Happily Ever After
by MrandMrsStinson
Summary: It's 2017 and married life is going well for Barney and Robin. Then, they find out Robin's pregnant. It's gonna be a bumpy ride. AU, where Swarkles are still together. This is Barney and Robin's entire life as parents. Please R/R :)
1. It All Started With A Test

**A/N**

 **Hey guys! I finally got around to publishing this story. It's been on my mind for so long, and I'm glad I'm finally sharing it! Please R/R, and I really hope you enjoy!**

...

Robin ran through the halls of WWN dodging people until she made it to her office. She ran into her private bathroom, locking the door and groaning and vomiting into the toilet. When she was done, she sat against the wall breathing heavily. This had been happening for weeks. She thought for a minute. What was wrong with her? Barney was getting worried. He had tried to get her to stay home today but she didn't want to. She insisted on coming into the office. Robin wasn't a weak person and being sick wasn't going to stop her from working no matter how much her husband insisted she stay home. She got his point though, she had been awake at crazy hours of the morning in the bathroom puking which kept him awake because he couldn't sleep when she was sick. Barney was always beside her to comfort her.

Ten minutes later, Lily came into Robin's office so the two could go out to lunch. She was late, as usual, because The Captain always had just one more painting to show her. But at least she was there.

"Hey, so Robin guess what. The Captain just sold a painting we…Robin?" Lily stopped talking when she realized her friend wasn't at her desk.

At the sound of her friend's voice, Robin got off the ground and quickly flushed the toilet. She stood in front of the mirror and quickly touched up her lipstick before opening the door and greeting her friend.

"What's wrong?" Lily seemed concerned.

"Nothing." She replied. Lily raised her eyebrows unbelievingly. Robin sighed. There was no getting past Lily and her stupid mother's intuition. "I've been sick for weeks. Vomiting, headaches, back pain. That kind of stuff."

"What else?" Lily asked, diving straight into mom mode.

"I don't know, insane cravings, I guess. That's not unusual though."

Lily bit her lip. "It sounds like you're pregnant."

"Lil, that's impossible. You know I can't have kids."

"I know but maybe they got it wrong. What you're experiencing is pretty common symptoms for pregnancy."

Robin shook her head. Lily wasn't making sense. Why was she bringing pregnancy up? It was a little cruel to tell an infertile woman that she might be pregnant. There was no way she was having a kid. "These aren't uncommon. It's probably all symptoms for some most types of cancer and incurable diseases, too."

"Robin, don't joke about that. I'll get you a test, but you need to find out."

She put her hands up, surrendering. "Okay, okay. I'll get one on the way home today. I promise."

…

During lunch, Robin couldn't stop thinking about it. Was Lily right? She knew what the doctor had said, but maybe that was wrong? Realizing that it was a possibility hit her like a ton of bricks. She picked at her food in the takeaway container and looked across the table at her friend. "Suppose I am pregnant, how do I tell Barney?"

"Don't worry about him. It's Barney. He'll be happy because he loves you so much. And, he would love a kid too. He knows what it's like, growing up without a dad, and he would never let that happen to his own baby."

"True." What Lily said made sense, but Robin couldn't help the thought as it kept clawing at the back of her mind. Would he still love and want to support her when she was throwing up from morning sickness? Or when the mood swings started? She tried to block out the negative thoughts but they wouldn't go away.

"Are you okay with this? I know kids weren't part of your plan."

Robin bit her lip. "Actually, I don't think having a baby would be that bad. Barney and I are in a loving relationship, and I'm at a stable place in my career. Maybe it would be a good thing, and I think it's time to take the next step in our relationship. As long as he's okay with this. I think I'm ready." Robin replied.

Lily grinned. "I really, really hope I'm right!"

…

After a quick detour to the pharmacy to pick up a test, Robin got in a cab home. She started to really think about it. About some of the things Barney has said before. Such as one of his vows: _I vow to love you forever unconditionally, unless you pudge out. In which case, I'm a Barney-shaped hole in the wall._ What the hell was he going to think when he knew she was going to pudge out big time?

The realization that she was probably pregnant hit her at full force and the tears got the better of her and flooded out. She didn't need a bit of plastic to tell her she was having a baby. Deep down, she already knew. Robin got out of the taxi at her and Barney's apartment and pawed at the mascara running down her face in a vain attempt to look less like she'd just sobbed her heart out. She opened the door to the apartment silently praying to be the first one home. She wasn't. Barney was standing in the kitchen on the phone to Ted.

He looked up and smiled at her, then his expression turned worried as he saw her tears. He cocked his head, silently asking her what was wrong. "Ted, I'll call you back later. Robin's upset." He hung up the phone and walked over to her, pulling her closer to him. "Babe, what's wrong?" He sounded concerned, and it made her feel worse.

She struggled trying to think of what to say. "I…um…" Instead of trying to explain herself, she placed the box containing the pregnancy test into his hands.

Barney's eyes widened and he was speechless. This was so unexpected. "Oh…woah."

Robin's lip quivered. "I'm supposed to be infertile. I know you probably don't want this-"

He cut her off, knowing he had to be the voice of reason. "Hey, stop it. Nobody said I don't want this. I love you. Start by taking the test. Come here."

He pulled her towards the bathroom, and sat on the bathtub, handing her the stick and reading the instructions. It was simple. "Just pee on the stick, we wait two minutes, see if there's a plus or minus sign." He explained.

She did as he said, then sat beside him on the edge of the bathtub with the plastic stick in her hand. Her eyes were closed and she was counting quietly. When two minutes came, she opened her eyes but couldn't will herself to look at it.

She shoved it into her husband's hand. "I can't look. I'm too scared."

Robin read his expressions as Barney turned it over and glanced at the little window. He did a double take, then grabbed the box, double checking that he was seeing the right thing. He looked up at her in awe, then dropped the test to the floor and pulled her into a hug.

"It's positive, Robin. It's positive. We're having a baby. Oh my god, I'm going to be a daddy!" Barney said. He was excited, but holy crap he was going to be a father. Robin was going to be a mother. A child was growing inside her stomach. His child. His child, that felt strange to think but it also felt right in a weird way. He was going to be a daddy!

"We're having a baby." She repeated. "Are you okay with this?"

"Of course I am. I love you. I couldn't imagine anyone better to start a family with."

She took a deep breath before speaking again. He wasn't thinking properly. She knew he was thinking of the cute things, and not about all the poop and vomit. "We're talking about a lifetime of commitment. Are you sure you'll want to be here when I get massively fat and gross and all I want to do is watch reality TV shows and sleep all day? When I don't make it to the bathroom in time and puke all over you. When I'm sweating and grunting during birth. When the baby's crying at 2 am and we can't figure out what's wrong?"

"Yes, babe. I promise. I don't care about the cravings and the mood swings or the pregnancy brain. I don't care about any of that, because you'll be forming and carrying a baby. That's awesome. And for god's sake why do you think I'd care if my pregnant wife was fat? That's the whole point, stupid." He grinned as he teased her. "Besides, if I let you raise a kid on your own then he or she would only be a little awesome. And you'd probably tell him or her that they're completely Canadian." Barney shuddered at the word Canadian.

"I mean, the kid would have more Canadian blood than American."

Barney shook his head. "Poor kid."

Robin laughed and shoved his shoulder gently. He smiled. Getting her to laugh always made him happy.


	2. The Bean Shaped Miracle

**A/N**

 **Wow this story is more successful then I first imagined. Thanks for reading guys, and I have no idea what happened with the format of last chapter. This story is a bit of a slow start, but once we get past all this it'll be a lot better. Most of this story is really domestic scenes with B/R which make my heart melt. Enjoy!**

...

"Seriously, Barney. If you don't stop tapping your foot I'll rip it off with my bare hands." Robin glared at her husband, who immediately stopped.

He squeezed her hand. "Sorry, I do it when I'm nervous." Robin looked around the waiting room of the OB/GYN clinic. She was nervous too, but for a different reason to Barney. He was nervous that the test was faulty. She was worried that it was faulty, and she definitely couldn't get pregnant and he would be disappointed in her. She saw how excited she got, and if the results were negative, she would be ripping that away from him.

She didn't have much more time to worry, as a nurse came into the room. "Robin Stinson?" She called. Robin stood up, pulling Barney with her and followed the nurse down a narrow hallway. "Could you please get changed and have a seat?" She pointed to the examination chair. "The doctor will be in soon." Robin nodded and the nurse left. She quickly changed and flung her clothes at Barney who was giggling and cracking dirty jokes.

Robin rolled her eyes. "You're so immature." As he was thinking of a rebuttal the doctor hurried in, apologizing for being late.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Bailey. What are we doing today?" She asked smiling at Robin and Barney, who had stopped being annoying and was now standing by his wife's side now.

"I think I'm pregnant." Robin told her. The doctor smiled.

"We're going to do a blood test okay?" She asked. Robin nodded.

…

The doctor drew blood from Robin's arm and left. As soon as the door closed, Robin turned to Barney.

"I'm really scared, Barn."

"There's nothing to be scared about, okay? I'm right here. I love you so much, and nothing can change that. Whatever the results of this test are, I'm going to be here to support you, no matter what." He replied, running his hands through her hair.

"But I know how much you want kids now. If I can't give them to you…" She trailed off, not having a burning desire to finish her sentence.

"I would never, ever leave you." Barney replied. "For you to even suggest that Robin Stinson." He narrowed his brow, pretending to be angry and quickly changing the mood from heavy to light and playful.

She smiled. "What are you gonna do to me?"

"Burn every single item in our apartment that even implies you're Canadian." He said with a grin. She gasped, playfully, and so began a verbal war of what of the other's stuff they were going to burn.

…

They were still laughing and joking when the doctor hurried back into the room, a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Congratulations! You're pregnant! We think you're about two months along. We just had a cancellation for a sonogram, so I can fit you two in. Would you like to?"

Barney squeezed Robin's shoulder. Both of the soon to be parents were grinning like idiots.

"Okay." Robin said. She pulled up the gown to expose her stomach. The doctor rubbed cold gel on her and used the ultrasound wand. Soon a picture popped up of a tiny bean shape. It was hard for Robin to believe that this was real. The pair looked at each other in awe.

"Our baby will be the most awesomest kid ever!" Barney said. Robin laughed at him. The doctor moved the wand over a little to reveal a heartbeat.

"This is…actually happening." Robin whispered. "That's our baby's heart."

Barney kissed her cheek. "Yep." The two looked at the screen for a few more minutes until Barney remembered something. "She was told she was infertile. A doctor from this clinic told her that."

"What?" The doctor seemed surprised. She pulled up Robin's file and skimmed it quickly. "Ahh, I think I know what happened. You were incorrectly diagnosed. Unless it's just a miracle."

"No, no, no, no. No. No. Miracles do not exist. No." Robin stated. Barney stifled a laugh. He couldn't believe that even after everything they'd been through together, from their engagement to them staying together against all odds and now with her being pregnant that she STILL didn't believe in miracles.

"I don't know babe." Barney teased. She pushed his shoulder and he made a huge dramatic display of stumbling back and knocking into a rack of parenting magazines. Robin rolled her eyes and glanced at the doctor who was giggling at them.

"He seems like a good guy." She commented with a smile and Barney steadied the shelf and came back to stand beside Robin.

"Yeah. I'm really lucky." Robin replied, planting a kiss on her husband's cheek.

…

Barney and Robin left the clinic happy and went to Maclaren's to meet the gang. The six adults always made sure they met up at the bar just like old times at least once a month and tonight was that night. They weren't planning on telling the gang yet, because Robin was only eight weeks along and there could be complications that went wrong. Barney and Robin didn't want to get everyone's hopes up for no reason. Lily was the only one who knew and Robin realized she had to tell her. She resolved to call her later that night.

When they walked into the bar they found Marshall, Lily, Tracy and Ted all around their booth. Barney and Robin joined them. Robin looked around at these parents. Marshall and Lily had Marvin, Daisy and their newest daughter Florence named after the city in Italy they visited when living in Rome and Tracy and Ted with Penny and Luke. She sighed with happiness.

"Do you guys want a drink?" Ted asked standing up to get the next round. Robin and Barney exchanged a look.

"Just water please." Robin finally said. Ted and Marshall's faces flashed with worry. Robin wasn't exactly the type of person to pass up alcohol. Lily instantly knew what was happening and flashed Robin a very excited grin and Tracy wasn't really the type of person to jump to conclusions.

"Are you sick?" Ted asked pressing his hand against her forehead as a reflex from having kids.

"No." Robin replied, pulling his hand off.

"What's wrong?" Ted asked.

"Nothing!" Her voice was thick with annoyance.

"Leave her alone guys." Barney hissed. Marshall and Ted ignored him.

Marshall shook his head. "Something is. No offence, Robin, but you're kinda addicted to alcohol." He had his phone out and was googling medical problems that prevent alcohol from being drunk. If it were Lily or Tracy they would've been quick to jump the conclusion that she was pregnant, but believing that Robin was infertile, none of them suggested that. Robin glanced at Barney one last time and he nodded, encouraging her to tell them.

"Fine. I'm pregnant." Robin announced.

"Seriously! That's fantastic!" Tracy squealed happily. Lily beamed. Robin put the sonogram on the table and the other two women snatched it up eagerly.

"Congratulations guys!" Marshall said.

"I can't wait for there to be another little baby in the gang!" Tracy squealed.

"Did you see the doctor?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, I'm eight weeks in." Robin replied. More squeals of excitement. Ted grinned at them.

"Congratulations guys!" He said. He was sitting at the head of the booth beside Marshall and lent in to hug her over the table.

Marshall signaled to Carl to bring over drinks when it occurred to him that Kevin had broken up with Robin because she couldn't have kids. He had always felt this overwhelming sense of protection for Robin. Sort of like she was his little sister. His scotch-loving, gun-nut little sister. He had secretly despised Kevin for this reason but never admitted it because he didn't want to be made fun of. He thought it was beyond wrong that he called off their engagement because of an issue with her body that wasn't her fault. He cocked his head at Barney curiously while Ted, Tracy and Lily began drilling Robin on things she could and couldn't consume. Barney shrugged at him questioningly.

"Robin?" Marshall asked. She looked up from her argument with Ted about why it was too early for her and Barney to go to a birthing class and smiled at him, signaling to him that he had her attention. "I thought you were infertile." She gave a slow nod as she thought about how to answer.

"Me too. Misdiagnosis apparently. I'm not a hundred percent sure of the details." She replied.

"Miracle." Barney stage whispered to the others, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Nope!" She yelled. The five spent the next hour trying to convince Robin that miracles did exist but she was too stubborn to agree. They ended up having a great night and staying out until two which was something that rarely happened nowadays because as Barney so elegantly put it: Lily, Marshall, Tracy and Ted got old and boring but he assured everyone that would never happen to him and Robin.


	3. Baby Steps

**A/N**

 **Ugh, sorry it took so long for last chapter to be updated. The format messed up. I'll post most days this week to make up for it, and as usual, please R/R :)**

 **...**

As the weeks went on, Robin realised how challenging work was. She hadn't told anyone there yet that she was pregnant. Mostly because she didn't want to deal with Patrice's suffocating smothering or Sandy's anti-monogamy comments. One morning, she and Barney were getting ready for work. They'd known about the baby for a month now. Barney was on the bed emailing one of his company's business partners, and Robin was trying on outfits. Clothes were getting harder to wear, now that she was showing.

She stood in the bedroom and sighed, pulling another top off and throwing it onto the bed.

"All these tops make me look fat." She complained.

Barney looked up at her from his place on the bed. "Fat? Babe, you're pregnant not fat."

"Barney, help me." Robin moaned, drawing out the y in his name and the e in me. "I need a top that doesn't make me look like a cow."

"Once again, you're not a cow. You honestly don't look fat. People are right when they talk about how pregnant women glow."

"You have to say that. You married me and put a baby inside of me." She grumbled. He shut the laptop and jumped up, coming over to her. She had her arms on her hips, so he threaded his own arms through hers, and gently rested them on her stomach, hugging her from behind.

"Oops. Sorry about that." He said with a grin. "Seriously though, you're still gorgeous Robin."

Robin grinned. "Okay, okay. I get it. Your spouse is so much hotter than mine. No need to rub it in."

"Hey!" Barney yelled, mock insulted. He pushed her gently and she smiled and planted a kiss on his forehead. She pulled herself away from him and went to trample through the closet again. Barney went back to his laptop.

"Barn? Where's all the dirty laundry?"

"I did a load last night after you fell asleep. It's probably still wet." Barney responded. Robin groaned. Recently, she'd been wearing loose, flowy tops at work to hide her bump but they'd all be wet now.

"All my loose shirts were in there."

"You couldn't just wear flowy tops all the time. You had to tell your boss and coworkers that we're expecting a baby eventually." Barney pointed out. Robin sighed in defeat and went to look at her clothes selection again.

Eventually, she pulled on jeans and a shirt that used to fit her well but was now too tight. When she went out to eat breakfast with Barney he suggested she get maternity clothes on the weekend. Robin agreed but found it unfair that she had to get maternity clothes already. When Lily and Tracy were thirteen weeks pregnant they were still tiny. Why was she the one that got the bump early?

…

After breakfast, Barney and Robin split a cab to work. After a quick stop at the coffee shop to get their usual, they went to GNB. Barney pecked Robin on the lips before saying goodbye and heading up to his office. When the cab let her out at WWN she hesitated before opening the door. She did it though and stepped inside.

"Morning R…" The security guard trailed off, eyeing her stomach. She gave him a quick smile and flounced through the doors of the elevator. Robin ignored the bewildered stares of her colleagues as she walked down the hallway to her office. It was annoying but she couldn't say she blamed them. She hadn't told any of them nor shown any signs of being pregnant, yet here she was sporting a baby bump.

Robin walked into her morning meeting late. She was carrying a takeaway cup on one hand and her jacket was slung over her other arm. She flung open the door, apologizing profusely for being late. Nobody paid her much attention until she stood up to take over Sandy's place of explaining their next assignment. They all stared at her. Crap. She was gonna get fired. She was totally going to get fired. Everyone in this room were all job-focused people. She was the only married one. Everyone in this room's careers were their top priority. Her top priority was Barney and their unborn child. It was quiet for a few minutes as everyone in the room stared at her.

"Scherbatsky?" Sandy asked breaking the silence.

She sighed. "What do you want Sandy?"

"Were you ever going to tell any of us about…that." Sandy gestured to her stomach. She rolled her eyes before responding.

"No. My husband and I weren't planning on telling anyone yet. I don't really want to mix my personal life with my professional life so if everyone would please direct their attention to the screen rather than my freaking body." Robin was getting angry now.

"I don't understand. Why didn't you tell us?" Her boss questioned. Robin put the papers down of the table in defeat. There were thirteen curious people and only one of her.

"Because, you're all very career focused people. Your careers are your lives. I used to be like that, my job was everything to me. Then I married Barney and everything shifted. He's my world and my career is just on the side. You guys don't exactly understand the situation nor do many of you agree with my decision to have kids and let my job suffer." She explained. They all nodded, thinking about what she had said.

"Well congratulations!" Her boss said after a few minutes.

Most of the other people in the room agreed and repeated what he had said. It meant a lot to her that they weren't instantly shutting down her idea of children as her throwing her career away. That's what had kept her from wanting kids in the first place, feeling like she couldn't have a job and be a mom at the same time. She knew now though that she would be able to do that. She had a fantastic support team with Barney and the gang and she knew that she could do anything and they'd be right behind her, supporting her the whole way. Including as she did the scariest thing she thought ever possible, become a mom.

Barney opened the door to their apartment that afternoon and it looked like a bomb had gone off in their kitchen. Robin was humming to herself as she checked something in the oven. There were multiple trays of food on the stove cooling and there was the biggest pile of dirty dishes he had ever seen in the sink. The kitchen counter was covered in flour and egg shells. This was a sight he never thought he'd ever see and honestly, it freaked him out. What the hell was she doing? Robin wasn't exactly going to be the typical suburban mom who bakes food for her kids' lunchboxes, drives a minivan and goes to yoga every Saturday. And he'd never seen her bake before.

"Babe? Whatcha doing?" He asked cautiously. She turned around to face him, smiling.

"Hey Barn. I'm baking." She replied. He went over to greet her properly with a kiss.

"I assume it went well at work then?" Barney asked curiously. She nodded and then resumed humming and turned back to her food. He plucked a cupcake off one of the trays and was surprised at how good it was. Barney went back to the doorway to pull his shoes off. When he looked up again, Robin was standing in the middle of the kitchen with her hand placed on her abdomen. Her face was a mix of confusion and amazement. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Barney asked, immediately panicking. She nodded.

"Yeah. I think the baby just kicked." She replied. He ran to her side, placing his hand on her stomach.

"Oh! I felt it!" His voice was giddy and childish. Robin smiled. She was confused and didn't think that the baby was supposed to be kicking yet, but that's certainly what it felt like.


	4. Who Wants To Be A Grandparent?

**A/N**

 **So glad people are enjoying this, as it's a really fun and light story to write. This is a long chapter, because only the gender on it's own was too short, and I didn't really feel the need to separate these. Please R/R :)**

...

Both Barney and Robin took the day off work to go to Robin's sixteen-week checkup only three weeks later. Luckily, everything was fine. The doctor also gave them an envelope with the gender of the baby in it. A few hours later the whole gang met up at Robin and Barney's house so they could all find out the gender together. Barney had been bouncy all afternoon, wanting so badly to open the envelope, but Robin made him wait. Finally, they all arrived, bearing pizza and settled down on the couches.

"So, what are you guys hoping for?" Tracy asked as everyone was eating.

"I think I want a girl. So that I can treat her like my father never treated me. Show him how you're supposed to treat you children. But I would honestly be happy with either." Robin said.

Barney smiled. "Aw man you mean we can't name our daughter Barney Junior? That was at the top of my list!" Barney teased. She grinned and punched him in the shoulder. "I don't really mind either way." He added.

"Yeah well I think it's a boy." Ted said putting his arm around Tracy.

"Nah, it's totally a girl." Marshall said.

"Slap bet?" Ted asked.

"Hell yeah!" Marshall replied.

"Alright ready?" Robin asked.

She stood up and took the envelope from Barney's hand. She opened it and stared, gaping at the small piece of cardboard. Robin visually paled. Barney stood up, anxiously watching her. He peered over her shoulder at the card and put his hand over his mouth. He recovered quickly and put his hands on her shoulders, guiding her back down to sit the couch. Barney grabbed her bottle of water from the coffee table, unscrewed it and handed it to his wife. She took it from him gratefully and lifted it to her lips. Barney began rubbing Robin's back. The gang were watching them curiously but nobody said anything.

"Holy crap." Barney said breaking the silence.

"Yeah." Robin's voice was barely a whisper.

"I'm excited." Barney decided. Robin nodded.

"Yeah, but I'm shocked and scared as well." She said

"What is it?" Lily asked. Robin nodded at Barney, silently telling him to tell them.

"Twin girls!" He announced.

"TWINS! OH MY GOD!" Lily screamed jumping up and down in excitement.

"GUYS! CONGRATULATIONS!" Tracy squealed in excitement. She was sitting on Robin's other side so she pulled her in to hug her.

"Two girls? I'm so excited for you!" Marshall said.

"Congrats!" Ted said. The slap bet was momentarily forgotten as everyone exchanged hugs. They sat back on the couch and looked over at Barney and Robin. She hadn't moved since Barney had pushed her onto the couch and her eyes were fixated on the wall. Barney was watching her with concern.

"Robin, you okay?" Marshall asked.

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just kinda realizing that for the next five months, two lives depend on solely me to keep them alive." Robin replied.

"We're here for you, Robin. For during this pregnancy and we'll still be here to help you guys after the babies are born." Ted said.

"Yeah and for the record, I truly believe you'll both be amazing parents. You're great with Marvin, Daisy, Penny, Florence and Luke." Tracy said.

"Yeah." Marshall agreed.

"I'm in this with you, baby. Not just for the next five months but for the next eighteen years and beyond that." Barney told her. Finally, some of the anxiety started to melt away and the excitement set in. Robin grinned and thanked the others. Marshall cleared his throat and everyone turned to him.

"It has come to my attention that this is not one girl, but two. So, all in favour of me slapping Ted twice raise your hand." Everyone except Ted raised their hands.

"Tracy!" Ted exclaimed.

"Sorry." She giggled.

"Ok do it." He stood up and closed his eyes. Marshall stood up and rubbed his hands and then slapped Ted. The noise echoed the room as the gang laughed. As he stood up he braced for the second slap and Marshall delivered it.

"I'm so glad that's not me anymore." Barney whispered to Robin.

"Barney I feel terrible for laughing at you all those times Marshall slapped you." Ted said standing up after the second slap.

"Ok now can we get another pizza?" Robin asked. Everyone looked at her. "Stop judging me! I'm eating for three!" Everyone laughed and Barney ordered her another pizza.

…

The next day was a Saturday. Barney rolled over and looked at his sleeping wife lying beside him. She was laying on her stomach with her hand placed on his bare chest. He wondered if it was safe for her to still lay face down with the baby. He resolved to google it later. The early rays of sunshine were bursting through the gaps of the curtains and shining on them. Robin always looked so peaceful when she slept. He put his arm around her back and dozed back to sleep. He woke up about half an hour later and kissed her forehead gently. Robin stirred and opened her eyes. She planted a kiss on his cheek and whispered a good morning in his ear.

"Morning gorgeous. We should probably tell our families today." Barney said.

"Ok." She yawned. "I'm kind of dreading telling my dad. If he even dares to treat them the way he treated me then he's not allowed to see them."

"Fair enough." Barney said. "Why don't you invite him to that café he likes? That's what we did last time you had to tell him something." Robin agreed with him thinking about when she told her father she and Barney were engaged all those years ago.

"What are we going to do for everyone else?" Robin questioned.

"Call my dad, your mom and your sister. For James and my mom, we have one of those family lunches with them today." Barney reminded her. They had family lunches with Loretta, Sam, James, Tom, Sadie and Eli approximately once a month. It was something Loretta demanded have done because she and Sam were getting older and she wanted to see her family as much as possible.

…

Robin and Barney got out of bed and got ready to go to Loretta and Sam's house. While Barney had been getting changed, Robin had called her dad and invited him to dinner at his favourite restaurant. They decided to tell everyone at lunch first, then her father and finally call Jerry and his family and her mom and Katie.

Robin was pulling her purse onto her shoulder and Barney was standing up from putting his shoes on when she decided to change. Barney groaned and flung himself onto the couch. She rolled her eyes and retreated to the bedroom for a few minutes before coming out in an off the shoulder, blue and white stripped sundress and white, flat strap sandals. It was looser than the shirt she had on before, with was good because the couple didn't want Barney's family to find out he was going to be a dad because of her bump. They wanted to tell them. With this dress on, you could hardly see her baby bump. The only reason Barney could see it was because he knew it was there.

"Hot." He whispered walking over to her and placing one hand on the small of her back and the other on her neck. She laughed.

"Thought you'd like it." Robin pulled herself away from her husband to grab her bag and then they left the apartment.

…

They arrived at Loretta and Sam's house on Long Island to find James, Tom, Eli and Sadie already there, and a game of soccer already in full swing in the backyard. Barney and Robin walked through the side gate, his arm around her hips and her hand in his back pocket.

"Hey everyone!" Barney called out. Eleven-year-old Eli and seven-year-old Sadie yelled something about the cool adults being here and ran to greet their aunt and uncle. Barney and Robin exchanged hugs with the kids followed by the other adults.

"We're playing soccer! Come join in! It's the usual teams!" Sadie squealed. Normally they played Loretta, Barney, Eli and Tom against Sam, James, Robin and Sadie. Robin and Barney exchanged a quick look. James and Barney were equally as competitive as each other and that sometimes got rough. Robin had suffered knees, elbows and even feet to the face whilst playing games with the Stinson boys. She didn't want to cop an elbow to the face, or worse, the stomach.

"Uhh…I think I'll sit this one out." Robin said.

"No! Come on Robin! We need to smash them again! I can't win with just dad and Sadie on my team. We need you!" James said.

"Last time we played, you gave me a bloody nose." Robin pointed out.

"It was an accident! I apologized like, eight times. I'll be gentle." James replied.

"James. Leave her alone." Barney warned his brother before turning to his wife. "No pressure for you to play, babe." He knew neither he or his brother were the furthest thing from gentle when it came to competitive sports. He couldn't think of anything worse than Robin getting hurt and he certainly didn't want to put the babies at any sort of risk.

"I won't play either. I have to finish lunch." Loretta objected, evening out the teams.

…

Lunch was served only ten minutes after they started playing the game. After everyone had plates of hot dogs and coleslaw balancing on their laps, Barney and Robin shared a look, and Barney opened his mouth to announce his news to everyone but James beat him to it.

"Guys, Tom and I have something to tell you." James said. Barney closed his mouth and looked over at his brother. "We're thinking about maybe adopting another kid!" Loretta and Sam went wild, hugging and congratulating them. Barney's mouth dropped open and he looked at Robin. They couldn't take the spotlight away from Tom and James' news but they couldn't really wait another month before telling everyone either.

Barney was angry at James and Tom. His wife was four months pregnant with their first (and second) child, but James got to take their opportunity to tell everyone to say that he and his husband were considering a third child. But, he also knew it wasn't James' fault. He had no idea.

"And to celebrate we brought champagne!" Tom said pulling a bottle out of a bag. Great. How perfect. So, freaking perfect.

"That will go great with shrimp! I think we have a bag in the freezer. I'll go get it and some champagne glasses." Sam said, standing up.

Robin's eyes shot to Barney's and she shook her head. There was no way she could handle that smell. She had barely been able to stomach the smell of the hot dogs cooking. Sam came back out of the house and opened the champagne. James poured it into the glasses and handed them out.

"No thanks." Robin said when he offered her a glass.

"Why not? Come on Robin! It's a special occasion! Tom and I could be having another kid! You could be getting another niece or nephew! Just have a glass of champagne." James urged.

"James! What is it with you trying to force my wife to do things today? Leave her alone!" Barney defended Robin. James shrugged and backed away, lifting the glass to his own lips.

Barney lent over to whisper in Robin's ear and they quietly argued whether they should tell everyone today. They had to, or they wouldn't see his family for another month, and Robin would be way too far along to announce it without Loretta getting upset that they hadn't told her sooner.

"We have an announcement too." Robin said. She nodded towards Barney.

"Robin's pregnant." Barney announced giddily.

"OH MY GOD!" Loretta screamed happily. Everyone erupted into happiness and rushed to hug the soon to be new parents.

"How far along are you?" Tom asked after everyone settled down.

Robin smiled. "Sixteen weeks." Barney grinned proudly and placed a hand on her bump.

"We wanted to tell you guys in person. That was going to be when we found out, eight weeks ago but mom and Sam were on holidays. Then last month when we were supposed to come over, the morning sickness was so bad she was either sleeping or vomiting so we couldn't come over then." Barney added.

"Is it a girl or a boy?" Sadie asked.

"Sades, they probably don't know yet." Tom said.

"Actually, we found out yesterday." Robin said, smiling at Barney.

"It's twin girls." Barney announced.

James, Tom, Loretta, Sam, Eli and Sadie all rushed to hug the couple excitedly. Sadie was over the moon that there were going to be girls for her to play with and Eli was just happy that his Aunt and Uncle were going to be parents. He knew they'd be the coolest parents ever, and was already jealous of his baby cousins.

…

Robin and Barney left Loretta and Sam's earlier than usual because they had to get ready to go meet Robin's dad. They went home and showered and got changed. Barney put on a different suit and Robin put on jeans and a shirt. She considered wearing the same sundress, but figured it would be too girly for her dad. On the way to the cafe Robin warned Barney that her father's reaction was going to be very different from his family's reactions.

To their relief, the pair arrived at the restaurant before Robin's father did. They found a table and sat down. The two chatted for a few minutes until Barney saw his father-in-law enter, his arm around a woman in her mid-fifties. Barney nudged his wife and pointed in the direction of her father.

"Who's the woman?" He asked.

"That would be my stepmother I guess. I've never met her." Robin replied. Her father and stepmother make their way over to the table where Barney and she were seated.

"Robin, this is Carol, my wife. Carol, this is my daughter Robin and her friend Barney." He introduces, draping his own coat around his chair.

"I'm her husband and have been for six years, but my charming father-in-law still isn't acknowledging that." Barney's tone was cold as he shook Carol's hand. Robin elbowed him in the side. Dinner wasn't off to a great start.

The waiter came and they ordered their food. During the course of the meal Robin and Barney kept trying to make their announcement but Robin's dad wouldn't shut up about himself. Every time Robin tried to cut in he would start talking again.

"Alright, I'm just going to go to the bathroom. Be back in a minute, babe." Barney said kissing Robin on the cheek. They had just finished dinner and had ordered dessert.

"Spaghetti's is the men's room." She reminded him quickly. Her father decided to go as well, leaving Robin in the awkward company of her newly acquainted stepmom.

Barney was washing his hands and humming to himself when his father-in-law stepped in as well.

"You know Barney, I can't believe you and Robin are even still together." He started saying. Barney rolled his eyes. "I would've thought you'd have dumped her by now. She's a failure. Surely you can't be proud to call her your wife." The older man raised his eyebrows when he finished talking. Rage was boiling inside Barney. Nobody had the right to talk about Robin like that. It wasn't true. It was the exact opposite from the truth. Barney was unbelievably proud of her and everything she's achieved. Instead of firing off some snarky and petty comment like he wanted to, Barney kept his mouth shut. "Are you going to say something, Blondie?"

"Just shut up before I do something I'll probably regret." He threatened angrily. Well, that came out wrong.

He opened his mouth to say something when Robin's father hit him square in the nose. Blood instantly began gashing down his face. Barney was going to hit his father-in-law back but figured Robin would be angry if he did that. Instead he placed a hand over his nose and walked out of the bathroom, back to their table. Mr Scherbatsky followed him.

"Oh my god! Barney!" Robin jumped out of her seat and ran to her husband's side. She pulled his hand away from his face and pushed him into a chair. She pulled a napkin from the table and handed it to him. He pressed it against his nose. Robin spun to face her father. "Did you do that?" Nobody replied. "DID YOU DO THAT?" She screamed louder at her dad. Barney had to stop himself from making a comment about pregnancy hormones.

"He needs to learn to toughen up." Her father simply replied. Barney felt Robin's hand grip his arm tighter. She was beyond angry at her dad. He pulled the napkin away from his face so he could squeeze her hand. The bleeding had stopped now.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You can't just go around punching people! Especially not your son-in-law!" Robin was beyond angry. She grabbed her purse from the ground. "Come on Barn. We're leaving." Barney opened his wallet and threw a couple of bills on the table. He pulled both their coats from their chairs and draped Robin's over her shoulders. He put a comforting arm around her waist. She was still staring daggers at her father.

"Come on babe." Barney soothed. Her eyes were beginning to water. He attempted to guide her out of the restaurant but she spun around.

"Oh sorry. You were too busy talking about yourself during dinner and I couldn't get a word in edgeways so I forgot why I invited you out. I'm pregnant." Robin's voice was angry. Her lip began to quiver and Barney knew she was about to start sobbing. He quickly pulled her out of the café so her father didn't see her cry. Barney wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of having something to comment on. The two could hear him yell out after her but didn't care.

…

Robin composed herself in the cab and didn't let hormones get the better of her. When they got back to the apartment, Barney suggested calling his father, her mother and Katie. He figured the sooner the better. She agreed and they called Jerome first. Cheryl, JJ and Carly were with him so that made two less phone calls. The four of them were ecstatic. Robin's mom was next. Robin dialed the number and pressed the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" Her mom answered.

"Hey mom." Robin yawned.

"Robin! How are you? How's Barney? Why are you yawning? Are you getting enough sleep? Oh, this is perfect! Katie's here too! Both of my girls!" Genevieve was overexcited and her voice was way too perky for Robin's liking.

"Slow down mom! Barney and I are great. I'm just tired but yes I'm getting heaps of sleep." She answered. Ms Scherbatsky fired off another series of questions and Robin tried her best to answer them. Barney left to get changed quickly and when he came back, Robin had fallen asleep on the couch, the phone pressed to her chest. He laughed gently and then took the phone from his wife's grasp.

"Genevieve?" He asked.

"Barney? Hello! How's work? Where did Robin go? Can you please make sure she's getting enough sleep because I really worry about her and-" She would've kept going for hours so Barney quickly interrupted her.

"Everything's great. Listen, she's exhausted and fell asleep on the couch. I'm going to wake her up so she can tell you what she called to tell you about." Barney explained. He gently shook Robin. "Baby. Wake up, beautiful." She groaned and covered her eyes. "Your mom's still on the phone."

"Oh!" She quickly took the device from Barney and clicked speaker. "Mom can you call Katie down so she can hear this too please?"

"I'm here. I've heard the whole conversation." Katie yelled from the background.

"Right, okay. Um…I'm pregnant." Robin said. Genevieve's shriek of happiness pierced the phone. It was so loud, both Barney and Robin covered their ears. She started speaking a mile a minute, asking Robin so many questions she didn't have answers to. Was she going to breastfeed or bottle feed her baby? What colour is she painting the nursery? Does she know she can't eat ham? Have she and Barney picked out a name yet and is it too American? Luckily this time it was Katie who interrupted her by snatching the phone from her grasp.

"Congratulations! I can't believe I'm going to be an aunty! And Barney, what the hell is with the whole thing with calling Robin baby and beautiful? Ugh I think I'm gonna puke." Katie said.

"He started doing it in the first few years of our marriage and it's just normal now. We kinda just do it naturally." Robin explained.

They spent a few more minutes discussing nicknames with Katie until Genevieve got ahold of the phone again. It was another half an hour before they finally got off the phone.

...

 **A/N**

 **I did warn you I loved James and Robin's relationship. :)**


	5. This Is Real

**A/N**

 **Super sorry, but I decided to change the timeline of the story. I was planning much later chapters, and realised I had to send everything back a year. Just so everyone's clear, this is how it happened. Barney and Robin found out she was pregnant in November 2017 at which point she was eight weeks in. It's now February 2018. Thanks guys!**

Barney ran his fingers through the vanilla scented brown curls that were sprawled across his lap. He looked down at his wife lovingly. Her eyes were glued to her stomach, where the babies were making some pretty drastic and sharp movements. It was to the point where he could see her skin moving. It was creepy and cool at the same time. It made him realize this was _real_. Robin was pregnant with his babies. This was actually happening. It's not that he hadn't realized before, but it was starting to really sink in now. Soon, there would be two other humans living with the two of them. This thought didn't scare him as much as he thought it would, instead it made him happy. It made him love and appreciate everything Robin was doing without her even noticing. He honestly couldn't wait.

"Hey baby?" Robin asked, looking up at Barney.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"The wallpaper came yesterday. Wanna put it up?" She asked. "And by we, I mean you. I'm too tired to move."

"I would but I have no idea how to do that." He replied. "I do have an idea though." He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Lily that he knew would scare her.

 ** _Barney:_** _Oh god, Lily please come over. Bring Marshall. She…I don't know what happened…Please just come to our apartment._

 ** _Lily:_** _What? Barney, are you and Robin okay?_

He didn't reply, and instead sent an almost identical message to Ted.

 ** _Barney:_** _Oh god, Ted please come over. Bring Tracy. She…I don't know what happened …Please just come to our apartment._

 ** _Ted:_** _What happened? Is Robin alright?_

 ** _Ted:_** _Barney, answer me!_

 ** _Ted:_** _We'll be there._

 **…**

Twenty minutes later, Lily and Marshall ran through the apartment door, looking tired. Like they'd run here.

"What happened?" Marshall demanded.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Lily asked, nearing Robin who was still seated in the couch. As she sat down, Tracy and Ted came crashing in as well.

"We're here! What did we miss? What happened?" Ted asked.

Barney grinned. "Thanks for coming, guys. Now that we're all here, who wants to help me put up wallpaper?"

Marshall, Ted and Tracy lectured him while Lily got off the couch and punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow! Lily!" Barney cried out.

"Princess." Robin snickered, causing the other four to laugh as well. Barney scowled at her.

"Anyway, you gonna help?" Barney asked.

Lily sighed and put her bag down. "Fine. But only because Daisy is driving me crazy! She's pushing her boundaries." Robin quickly stopped to realize how fast her nieces and nephews are growing up. She remembers them all as little babies, but they're all so big now. Luke turned one last month, in January and Florence turned one in December. Those two literally felt like they were born yesterday. Penny's turning three next month. Daisy's turning four next week and Marvin will be six in May. It's crazy.

"We'll help too, but only because you're so desperate and that's funny." Ted added.

The six adults went into the nursery and Robin showed them the wallpaper she picked. It was pretty, with realistic looking fake wood panels on the bottom half, and a baby pink with white polka dotted top half. Marshall demonstrated to Barney how to put it up, then everyone started besides Robin. She stood back, watching them, too tired to think straight.

"So, have you guys thought about names?" Marshall asked, as he began on his second sheet.

Robin smiled. "We have one first name, but the other I'm still working on. He's picking the middle names, but refuses to tell me until the kids are born."

"Bad idea Robin." Lily commented laughing.

"You said his some of his name suggestions were horrible. Why are you letting him do this? You'll be spaced out of your mind when he pitches them to you." Ted asked.

Robin shrugged. "It's fair this way. We did decide that if the names are too wild than I get to say no because he did turn down a few of my suggestions."

"Robin! For the last time, Maple isn't a name! It's a syrup! And we aren't naming our daughter after a syrup!" Barney told her.

"It's cute and Canadian." She protested.

"We aren't having the Maple discussion again." Barney said. The others were laughing at the two.

"What's the name?" Tracy asked.

"You'll find out in four months." Robin said, with a grin, causing the others to groan in frustration.

She watched for a little while longer, before yawning and announcing she was going to go take a nap.

…

About an hour later, the gang had almost finished wallpapering the room. Barney was about to offer to go out and get lunch when Robin shrieked his name at the top of her lungs.

Barney dumped the sheet of wallpaper on the ground and sprinted to their room. "What? What's wrong, babe? Are you okay?" He asked frantically.

"I thought of the perfect other name." She replied.

"Jesus, way to give me a heart attack." He responded, sitting on the bed next to her. She lent in and whispered in his ear, so any other members of the gang who may be hovering around outside, didn't hear.

Barney considered for a minute. He repeated the name, possible nicknames and said it with the other name they had chosen softly under his breath before reaching a decision. "Perfect. I love it."

"Good." Robin replied, leaning in to kiss him.

…

 **A/N**

 **This chapter was kinda tying together loose ends, and a lot of stuff I had spread out in other chapters that I decided to merge together. Thanks for reading, please review! :)**


	6. The Princesses Kingdom

**A/N**

 **Maybe a little OOC, oh well, I like it. Love you guys, please keep reading and reviewing!**

…

At around six months, Barney and Robin decided it was time to start thinking about the nursery. So, they borrowed Ted and Tracy's Range Rover and made the lengthy car trip from Manhattan to New Jersey. Barney had luckily learnt to drive a couple of years ago, because of Ted's persistent nagging. This was lucky because Robin did not feel like driving. She was asleep no more than five minutes into the journey.

…

Imagine a child in a candy store. Scrap that, imagine Marshall in a candy store. That was what Barney looked like when they walked into the We B Babies outlet in New Jersey. He dropped Robin's hand and ran ahead to grab a shopping cart.

"Child." She muttered under her breath as she followed him.

"Hurry up, babe!" He demanded.

"Barn, calm down. I am not running to keep up with you. First things first, I really need to pee. And I'm hungry." Robin declared.

Barney scowled. "Again? You just peed fifteen minutes ago at the rest stop! And you literally just scarfed down a packet of cookies."

Robin sighed and put her hands on his shoulders, pulling him closer so they were eye-to-eye. "Remember this face Barney?"

"That's either your pretty hungry face or your pretty mad face."

"Yeah. And I'm going to get hangry if I don't eat something soon." Her voice was a low growl.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. You're carrying my children and I love you so much so whatever you want, you get. Let's see if there's a café or something around here." The last sentence was muttered to himself.

The store seemed to have prepared for hungry pregnant ladies. They had a café inside the actual building, located conveniently right next to the bathrooms. Robin had just finished demolishing a stack of maple syrup and ice cream pancakes and a chocolate milkshake. She looked over at Barney who was eating a muffin. She intercepted the forkful of food somewhere between the plate and her husband's mouth and ate it.

"Mmm. That's good babe." Robin observed, chewing. Without offering or her asking, Barney placed the plate that had what was left of the muffin in front of her to finish.

…

They had been in the middle of looking at cribs on the IKEA website when a couple approached them.

"Excuse me?" The woman asked. Barney and Robin looked up. She had a child that looked about two years old on her hip and another who looked around five was holding her hand. The man had a baby strapped to his chest.

Robin looked at Barney in confusion before answering. "Uh yeah?"

"Are you pregnant?" The man asked. Barney and Robin shared another look.

"Uh…yeah." Barney's voice had a hint of irritation in it.

The other couple shared a knowing glance. "Can we give you some advice?" The man asked.

Barney reached out and took Robin's hand in his, which the other couple probably read as them wanting to receive advice but it was actually a comfort for the long lecture they were about to suffer. These people were yet another couple who had a couple of kids and thought they were experienced or something and therefore granted the right to educate soon to be parents on a topic so personal and individualized as parenting. Robin only really cared about two other people's opinions on her pregnancy and that was her doctor's and Barney's. Well, and what Lily and Tracy told her.

"First of all, I can tell by how big you are that you're having a boy." The woman started. Robin snorted and Barney burst out into a fit of laughter. The other couple looked confused briefly before the man took over from his presumed wife.

"Also, you shouldn't really be eating sugary foods. And have you been doing a lot of exercise? Running and swimming is crucial for the baby's wellbeing." He advised.

"Okay dude, whatever your name is. Do you think I crave celery and freaking lettuce? No, I'm not a rabbit. I want is greasy, sugary, fried and salty deliciousness. Also, I'm exhausted one hundred percent of the time so I'm not going to go running after working for eight hours straight. I'm going to pop in a movie and eat pizza with my husband on the couch because I have a free pass to do so. Stop going around telling all us first time parents what to do. I'll give you a tip, nobody cares." Robin said. Even after being married for six years, Barney was still awed at the way she stood up for him, herself and everyone she cared about. He also found something about her telling somebody off really hot.

"We get that but just listen." The woman started.

"Nope. See ya." Barney cut her off. He stood up, pulling Robin with him. She grabbed her handbag and allowed him to start pulling her out of the café, his arm around her hip.

Barney and Robin were in fits of laughter as they quickly escaped the couple wanted to give them 'helpful' advice. They were back into the main area of the warehouse and composed themselves. Barney got a cart and they started walking through the large store.

…

At We B Babies they had managed to get quite a lot for the nursery and for the babies in general. Crib liners, sheets, changing table topper, Baby Björns, double stroller, car seats, blankets, newborn toys and decorative items. After Lily forced her to read a lot of articles, Robin knew that wrapping the girls and putting them in the cribs with nothing but a sheet below them and crib liners was the safest option for newborns and babies up to eighteen months old, hence why they didn't bother getting any type of pillows or other linen for the cribs.

After checking out and taking all their purchases to Ted and Tracy's car, Barney and Robin went to IKEA. They were going to buy the furniture here.

"Holy crap." Barney muttered as the two stepped into the store.

"It's huge." Robin agreed.

It was a long winding store and Barney, who had demanded to take charge, had gotten them lost a couple of times, but finally they got to the section where you pick up your items. Robin laughed watching Barney struggle to carry the heavy flat packs to the cart.

"Are you sure you don't want help, babe?" Robin asked as she watched him haul box two of three of the first crib over to the cart.

Barney grunted. "No. I can do it."

"Uh huh. Sure. Your face doesn't look like Ted's cowboy boots either." Robin teased.

Barney slammed the box onto the cart. "Babe, stop. I'm not letting you lift a finger so just let me do it."

"Okay." She replied.

Eventually, they managed to get everything loaded onto the cart. They took it to the counter and paid. Their purchases here included two cribs, a changing table, two drawers and a rug.

…

Once they got back to the apartment, Barney called Marshall and offered him $1000 to come over and help him take everything inside. Obviously, he agreed.

"Barney, I could have helped." Robin complained as she watched her husband and Marshall heave another flat pack inside.

"No." He grunted.

Robin crossed her arms. "Stop it. You're treating me like I'm fragile or something."

"You are fragile." Barney insisted. "And apparently, still have pregnancy brain."

Marshall jumped into the conversation. "He's right, Robin. You're six months pregnant and that means you can't do regular stuff. Just sit down and relax and let Barney spoil you."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna take a nap."

"You do that." Barney grinned.


	7. Showered With Love

**A/N**

 **Ahh, I love this chapter so much. It's adorable. I left a major spoiler for one of the names! Also, I got a little carried away with the nursery, oh well! The baby shower is cute, but the scene after is so domestic and ordinary, which I love. The more true to real life the scenes in this particular story are, the more I like them. Please, as always R/R! :)**

 **...**

Lily and Tracy had argued with Robin for hours about her baby shower. She did not want one. It took a long time, but they, collectively with Barney, finally convinced her to have one. They were going to plan it for her and all she had to do was show up. Robin made them swear it wasn't going to be a super boring party, with women sitting around gushing over onesies. Instead it was going to be a huge party. They had decided to hold it in Ted and Tracy's backyard so there was a lot of space for everything.

The day arrived and Robin and Barney got to Ted and Tracy's house at eleven am. Three hours after the other members of the gang arrived and began setting up, and two hours before guests arrived. The first thing they saw when the taxi pulled up was the pathway to the door lined with fairy lights and pink balloons. At the door, a chalkboard read 'Two months to go!' in calligraphy, that they assumed Ted wrote.

"Oh, my god." Robin muttered as she and Barney walked up the pathway and into the house.

"Hey! Is that the guests of honor?" Tracy called out. They went into the kitchen and exchanged hugs with Tracy and Lily, who were inside. Everyone was working excruciatingly hard.

"What can we do?" Robin asked. She looked around at what everyone was doing. In the backyard, Ted was mowing the lawn. Marshall was on the deck, putting up decorations. It looked like a unicorn exploded pink everywhere. In the kitchen, Lily was cooking and Tracy doing drinks.

"Just the decorations." Lily replied.

"On it." Barney said, going outside to help Marshall. Robin sat on a barstool at the counter and watched with intrigue as Lily expertly cooked without a recipe.

"Try this." Tracy said, handing Robin a champagne glass filled with some sort of drink mixture. "Don't worry. It's non-alcoholic." She added quickly, seeing the worried look on her friend's face.

Robin took the glass and sipped. "Oh my god, that's delicious! What's in it?" The drink was fruity and sugary. It satisfied the cravings Robin didn't even know she had.

"Secret. There's no alcohol here though, so feel free to drink anything." Tracy replied. She continued pouring the mysterious and delicious pink drink into champagne glasses. Tracy filled a whole tray and Robin offered to take it outside. She stepped out of the kitchen and carefully carried the wooden tray out the backdoor.

Outside, Ted was finishing mowing the lawn and Barney and Marshall were working on putting up a string of pink lights on a bush. The veranda was quite small, so the party was going to mostly take place on the lawn. When you first walked out onto said veranda, there was a table that already had a few pink wrapped gifts placed on it. There was a banner hanging above it that read _'Thanks for helping us celebrate Robin & Barney's happy accident!' _Robin laughed when she read it. There were strings of lights and pink streamers there too. Down the steps, there were a couple of folding tables set up. One already had a couple of trays of drinks on it, so she placed her tray beside it. Behind the tables were foil, helium balloons that spelt out twins. There were pink balloons everywhere. There were even pink water balloons in a tub. Robin smiled and picked one of them up. She threw it at Ted's back.

"Hey!" He yelled spinning around. She just grinned at him.

"Robin!" Lily yelled from the kitchen. "Come try this!" She spun around and went back into the house to taste test.

…

At one pm on the dot the first guest arrived. It was Patrice. Robin was all smiles to her face but the second she went outside, Robin shot Tracy a glare so intense, she was legitimately scared.

…

By one thirty, the party was in full swing. Most of the guests had arrived. Robin was in a conversation with Tom and a woman she worked with, when Barney ran up to her, excited.

"Robin, Robin, Robin!" He was jumpy.

"What?" She asked, slightly irritated.

"Come with me!" He practically yelled, putting a hand on her wrist and beginning to pull her in the direction of the stairs. She shrugged helplessly to Tom and her coworker and allowed Barney to pull her over to the drinks table. A woman turned around as she neared. It was her mother.

"Mom!" She yelled, enveloping her.

"Darling." Genevieve said sweetly as she hugged her daughter back. "Katie, look." Robin's twenty-nine-year-old sister spun around.

Katie grinned at Robin. "Hey."

"Hey." Robin replied, letting go of her mother and pulling her sister closer. After they pulled away, Robin leant back, against Barney. He put his arms around her neck and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Oh, by the way, Robin, this is my boyfriend, Adam. Adam, this is my sister Robin and my brother-in-law Barney." Katie said, pulling a man towards her. He was huge, he towered over Barney, and looked very Canadian. He was wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey and biceps bigger than his head.

"Hey." Robin greeted. "You're a fan of the Maple Leafs? I'm a Canucks fan."

"Huh. Are we gonna have a problem here?" He probably meant it jokingly, but it came out so threatening that Barney pulled Robin closer to him. He found it highly inappropriate for someone to say something like that, something that could be so easily misinterpreted.

Katie laughed, trying to clear the awkward atmosphere between Adam and Barney. "So, Robin, where are your friends?"

Robin scoured the backyard. In the far corner of the yard, Marshall and Lily were talking to The Captain, most likely about art. Tracy was close by, talking to James and Loretta and Ted was carrying a tray of drinks from the house. As he passed, Robin grabbed one. "Here's Ted, Marshall and Lily are talking to her boss and Ted's wife, Tracy, is talking to Barney's brother and mom." Robin pointed each person out as she mentioned them. Genevieve struck up a conversation with Ted while Katie and Adam flounced off in the direction of Marshall and Lily.

…

As the party wore on, and Genevieve finished talking everyone else's ears off, she finally started drilling her eldest daughter. Robin was stacking plates and glasses up and trying to take them inside, while Tracy and Barney were attempting to stop her.

"Will you stop!" Barney scolded his wife as she brought in yet another stack of plates from outside.

"This isn't Ted and Tracy's job, Barn." Robin said.

"TRACE!" Barney called.

Tracy came inside. "What's up?" She then saw Robin stacking plates into the dishwasher. "Stop it! Seriously, Robin!"

"What?" She asked innocently.

"We can do that later. Go mingle. Talk to everyone, enjoy this. We're not even halfway through the party yet." Tracy said.

"Fine." Robin reluctantly agreed.

Barney smiled. "Thank you." He took her hand and they went back outside. The couple went to the drinks table and got glasses of Tracy's concoctions when Genevieve came up.

"Darling, can we talk?" She asked.

Robin chugged the rest of her drink before turning to her mom and plastering a fake smile on her face. She knew she was about to be lectured. "Sure mom."

"Are you sure New York is the best place to raise a child? I mean you have a tiny apartment with no lawn. I want the best for my granddaughters."

"The best place to raise children is where Barney and I are. We want to stay in New York. Sure, we don't have a backyard, but babies don't need a backyard. Our apartment isn't that small either. It's got three bedrooms." Robin replied.

Genevieve frowned. "Babies need vitamin D."

Robin rolled her eyed. "Okay mom, I'm done with this conversation now." She gave her mother a quick smile and then went into the crowd to talk to people.

…

"Can everyone gather round? We just want to say a few things before we hand the mic over to the soon to be parents!" Ted called through the microphone. People cheered as they all headed over to Ted. He was on the top step of the patio and everyone gathered on the grass below him.

Marshall took it from him. "Thanks for being here today, everyone! I know Robin and Barney really appreciate it. So, if there are any party crashers in the crowd, who for some reason decided to crash a baby shower-" He was forced to pause by everyone's laughter, "-then Barney and Robin are the couple over there."

Ted cut in quickly. "Robin's on the right. They're about the same weight, so it may be hard to tell which one's pregnant."

"I WILL KILL YOU THEODORE!" Barney screamed. The rest of the crowd was in hysterics laughing as Robin and Barney forced their way to the front and took the microphone from Ted.

"Thanks, we'll take over." Robin said, trying to contain her laughter. "Stop sulking, Barney."

He reached out to take it from her. "Yeah, as Marshall and Ted said, thanks for coming, thanks for the gifts and thanks for all the parenting tips, god knows we need them. Robin and I are really glad that Au-" Barney was cut off by Robin shoving her hand over his mouth swiftly, to stop him from blurting out one of the names. "That the twins will be born into a world with so many family and friends who love them." He quickly corrected himself and then flashed a mean smile to Lily who was groaning because she wanted to know what names they had chosen and she was so close to finding out.

"Ok, we have one last surprise for you guys." Ted said, reaching out to take the mic.

"This was totally Ted and Marshall's idea, we take no credit!" Tracy yelled, as she and Lily stepped away slowly.

"Marshall now!" Ted ordered. Buckets of cold water dropped down onto the unsuspecting couple, from the roof where Marshall was perched. "Happy baby shower!" It was a warm day, for Spring, but certainly not warm enough to be drenched in freezing cold water. Both Barney and Robin were standing still, gaping.

Barney used the back of his hands to wipe water from his eyes then turned behind him to where Marshall and Ted were standing, laughing at their own joke. "That was the stupidest idea ever. And a lame pun." He turned to his right where Robin was still standing, motionless. "Are you okay, babe?" He murmured, suddenly fearful. She nodded and opened her eyes.

"I am going to kill them two though." She threatened, grinning. Robin reached to her side where an untouched bucket of water balloons was sitting. She started pelting them at the two men, who squealed like children. Barney's eyes sparkled as he got an idea. He ran to the side of the house and turned the hose on, then brought it back around to the front of the deck. Guests ran for cover as Barney pulled Robin behind him and aimed the hose at Marshall and Ted.

Before long, it had turned into a full-fledged water fight. Most guests had joined in, and everyone was throwing water balloons at each other. By the time people started to leave, almost everyone was drenched from head to toe in water.

…

Towards the end of the party, Barney and Robin were sitting on the porch steps, laughing and sipping lemonade when Katie and Adam came approached them.

"Hey guys." Katie said, smiling.

"Hey, what's up?" Robin asked.

Katie grinned, obviously trying to suck up to her sister. "So…the hotel we were going to stay in is all booked, so we don't have anywhere to stay tonight. Could we stay at your apartment?" Barney and Robin exchanged glances.

"Sure, but we don't have anywhere for you so sleep. The former guest room is now a nursery." Barney said.

"Don't you have three bedrooms?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, but one is just full of crap we dump in there so we don't have to look at it." Robin said. "I guess we could blow up an air mattress though, if you don't mind sleeping in the nursery."

…

"Woah, there's baby crap everywhere!" Katie commented as she entered the apartment. Barney pushed past her so he didn't drop the stack of baby shower gifts on the ground.

Robin looked at her sister in confusion. "Duh. The babies are due in two months, and we're prepared."

"Here, put your bags in the nursery." Barney said. He and Robin lead Adam and Katie to a room and opened the door. Robin looked around the nursery proudly. It had taken ages to do, but looked beautiful.

The room was big, square and wallpapered. The bottom half of the wallpaper was white, and looked like paneled wood, and the top half was a baby pink with white polka-dots. At the far end, a large window had white curtains. Underneath the window was a white changing table. It was already stocked with diapers, baby powder, wipes and pretty much everything else essential for a changing table. The changing pad was white with rose gold zigzags. On either side of the changing table were white dressers. The dressers were already stocked with clothes. On the walls vertical to the dressers, were white cribs, both with pink sheets. Although the bedroom was carpeted, there was still a fluffy white rug in the middle of it. On one side of the door was a white rocking chair, with a pink blanket tossed over it. Opposite to that, on the other side of the room was a white toy box, already overflowing with toys.

"It's super pink and girly in here!" Katie exclaimed.

"Yeah, dummy. We're having twin girls." Robin replied.

…

Later that night, Adam and Katie had retreated to the nursery where the air mattress Barney had blown up was. Barney and Robin were on the couch. She was laying with her head on Barney's lap and he was massaging her back. She was eating a tub of Oreo ice cream with Cheetos mixed in. Barney kept his eyes peeled to the screen so he didn't gag. Some of her food choices were disgusting.

"Robin, where's the-" Katie paused, looking at her sister. "What the hell are you eating?"

"Oreo ice cream and Cheetos. It's delicious. I'd offer you some, but there's hardly any left." Robin replied.

Katie wrinkled her nose. "Gross."

"Oh, you wanna go Scherbatsky?" Robin asked, slamming the carton down on the coffee table.

"Yeah, Stinson. Let's go." Katie replied. Barney couldn't contain the grin on his face at his sister-in-law calling Robin by his last name instead of her maiden name. He stood up and pulled Robin with him, as she was struggling to get off the sofa. The two neared each other, mock furiously. Robin grabbed the almost empty carton and threw it at her little sister, showering her in melted ice cream. Robin laughed and ducked behind Barney, using him as a shield from her sister.

"I am actually going to murder you!" Katie yelled, but even she couldn't contain her laughter. She charged for the couple, and as she neared, Barney threw her over his shoulder into a fireman's carry.

"I've got you covered, babe." Barney laughed, dumping his sister-in-law on the couch. Robin giggled and pressed a kiss to his temple.

"Yuck, you guys are gross. And for the love of god, stop calling her babe. It's disgusting." Katie said with a hint of disgust, causing the other two to laugh.


	8. Slamming Doors

**A/N**

 **Sorry this took so long to update! I wrote an entire long chapter but decided I hated it and it was too OOC so I deleted it and moved on to this chapter…yay! Is it bad how excited I was to write this? Probably, lol. Sorry if the chapters start coming a little slower, the whole story is almost done, but my writing from 2-4 years ago is absolute** ** _crap_** **and I have to rewrite most chapters. Also, I wanted to update this weekend, but every time I sat down to write, I wasn't happy with it. I kinda just wasn't in a mood. I am now though! Please R/R!**

 **...**

Robin neared the entry of her and Barney's apartment. She was now almost into her eighth month of pregnancy, and was due in six short weeks. Her doctor and Barney were trying their absolute hardest to get her to stop working and relax, but she refused. She also denied early maternity leave, and wanted to keep working for another week. Before she started the leave, she wanted to finish her project, as she would be off with the babies for five months after they were born. That meant a lot of late nights at the office, working. It was midnight, and she'd only just gotten home. She prayed Barney would be asleep as she opened the door, but he wasn't. He was sitting at the counter.

He looked up as she walked in. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Yeah, I got held up. Sorry." She replied.

"No, Robin! You can't just keep doing this!"

"I don't want to talk about this right now, Barney. I'm exhausted and stressed and have to be up early for work."

He looked furious. "You know why you're exhausted? Because you're almost eight months pregnant, and refuse to take it easy. I can't believe you. You're so selfish."

"Barney, stop." Robin growled.

"No! I'm not going to stop. This isn't a punishment, Robin. It's what's best for the babies. All I'm asking you to do is stop working for a while and relax." He replied.

"I'm doing everything right! I'm not smoking, I'm not drinking, I'm not even laying on my stomach anymore! I'm just working, there's nothing wrong with that! I'm sitting at a desk typing things."

Barney rolled his eyes. "It's about the stress and you know that. Working is stressing you out, therefore likely increasing our chances of stillbirth and miscarriage. Is that what you want?"

"Of course not." She whispered angrily. "It's okay for you, though. You can do what you want and just demand I do stuff."

"Demand you to do stuff? Robin, what the hell is wrong with you?" Barney asked.

"Excuse me?" She yelled.

"I can't even deal with this right now, Robin."

She was getting more worked up every sentence he said. "I know what's best for our babies, Barney. You don't. You have no idea."

"You're right. I have no idea what's going on in your body. But, I do give a crap about my children. Unlike you. All I ask is for you to relax, freaking _relax_ for just six weeks, and you can't even do that. You're too selfish to do that. When we got married, I knew you were stubborn, but I _never_ expected this." He was absolutely furious.

Tears were pooling in her eyes. "I need to get out of here."

"FINE! Go out and go back to work. Let the stress drive you into miscarriage. Hell, if that doesn't work get drunk and kill our babies. You can die too, for all I care." He yelled as the door slammed behind her. She knew he said it out of anger, and absolutely didn't mean it, but it still hurt her so much. Hearing that from the one person who's supposed to love and protect her at all costs was the most emotionally painful thing she's ever endured. Then again, the hormones might be telling her that. Tears fell as she exited the elevator into the lobby. She was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Mrs Stinson!" Someone yelled out. She turned around. It was Fredrick, the doorman. He's a sweet man, maybe around Barney's age. He neared her. "Is something wrong? Can I do anything?"

"No Freddy. Thank you, though." She replied.

He looked skeptical. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

"I'm okay." She replied. She contemplated waltzing past him, but decided to tell him what was going on. It wasn't really any of his business, but he's always been so polite, and has been the doorman here for as long as Barney's been living here. He was probably worried, so she decided to explain. "Barney and I were fighting, that's all."

He nodded understandably, but didn't say anything. Robin gave a weak smile and turned to leave, before realizing she didn't have her purse. She had no phone and no money. Screw it, she'd just walk to Marshall and Lily's. True, it was a twenty-three-minute drive away, so walking would take roughly 2 and a half hours…okay maybe she couldn't walk that. Was WWN closer? Yeah, she could walk there. As long as she didn't have to go back home. She headed towards the doors, before stopping and turning on her heel.

"Could I please use your phone?" She asked.

He smiled and pulled it out of his back pocket. "Sure." She took it from him and opened the phone app, then paused. Who should she call? She has the gang's numbers memorized, but Ted would try to get her to talk about what was going on, Tracy wouldn't take her anywhere, and would instead make her make up with Barney, Lily would pry. That left Marshall. Perfect. She dialed his number and he picked up on the fourth ring.

"Robin? What's up?" He yawned.

"Hey Marshall. Can you please come pick me up?"

"Sure. Where are you? Are you alright?"

"At home. I'm fine, I just need to get away from Barney for a while. We were fighting." She replied.

"Okay. Give me fifteen."

She sat in the lobby and waited for Marshall while making small talk with Freddy. He didn't really have a lot to do at this time of night. It wasn't long before Marshall walked into the lobby. He stopped for a second and looked her up and down, as if scanning her for injuries.

"By fight you don't mean he actually-"

"God no, Marshall. This is Barney we're talking about. It was verbal only." She replied quickly.

His shoulders slacked in relief. "Good. Come on, let's go. You look exhausted." He stuck a hand out to her and hoisted her off the couch, then the two walked out to the car.

They were about halfway back to the Eriksen's house when Marshall looked over at Robin. "Lily wants me to grill you on what happened."

Robin sighed. "Of course she does. I don't want to talk about it, Marshall."

"That's fine." He replied, quickly averting his vision back to the road. The last thing he needed right now was to get into an accident. Barney would kill him. Robin let her gaze drift back to the window. Marshall not pushing only made her want to talk about it.

"I've been working really long hours because I want to finish my project before my maternity leave starts. I got home at midnight and Barney was pissed." She started. It gained her his attention. "He said the stress was going to make me miscarry."

"That's harsh." Marshall replied, seemingly horrified. She almost laughed, that was nothing compared to some of the fights she'd had with her husband.

"I got angry and stormed out and he told me to die."

Marshall slammed the breaks on the car. "What!"

"It's okay. I'm fine, I know he didn't mean it. He just pisses me off." She responded. "Please just keep driving, I'm tired." He obeyed and they arrived at the Eriksen's place.

"Sweetie what happened?" Was the first thing out of Lily's mouth when Robin and Marshall opened the door.

"I don't want to talk about it. I'm tired." She mumbled.

"Spare bedroom is all yours." Lily replied, knowing when to stop pressing. She'd drill her about it more tomorrow.

"Oh, if Barney calls, don't tell him I'm here, okay? Let him worry, he deserves it."

Lily nodded and Robin went down the hall into the spare room. She fell onto the bed, not bothering to take her shoes off or climb under the covers. As she drifted to sleep, she heard Marshall and Lily whispering, no doubt about her and Barney.

…

Barney sunk to the floor in anger as soon as the door slammed behind Robin. He was so frustrated, why wouldn't she just listen to him? He had read so many books and pamphlets, he knew what was best for her and the babies. He heard her sobbing as she fled the apartment and felt bad. Maybe he went too far with the telling her to die thing. He obviously didn't mean it. She knew that, right? He pulled himself off the floor and grabbed his phone, then sent a few texts to her.

 ** _Barney:_** _I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, I didn't mean it._

 ** _Barney:_** _Come home please._

 ** _Barney:_** _I'll leave if you want to get away from me. You shouldn't have to be the one looking for a place to sleep._

He put his phone back down on the counter and heard three buzzes from across the room. He went over and grabbed Robin's purse. Inside was both her phone and wallet. So, she was out in New York City on her own, with no phone, money or way to protect herself? It made him sick just thinking about what could happen to her. He swallowed the worry and laid down on the couch. She was a big girl and could take care of herself. If she did come home though, she wouldn't want him in the bed, so he fell asleep on the couch.

…

Barney awoke on the couch at 3:10am. It had been over two and a half hours since Robin stormed out. He got up, groaning and went into the bedroom. The bed was untouched and empty. She wasn't home yet. Immediately, the worry built up in his chest. He swallowed a lump in his throat. Where the hell was she? He attempted to calm himself down. He hadn't even checked with the gang yet. He raced into the kitchen and grabbed his phone, dialing Ted's number. The man picked up on the last ring.

"Hello? Barney, what's up, it's three in the morning."

"I know. Have you seen Robin?"

"What? No, why?" He asked, sounding concerned.

Barney cleared his throat. "We were fighting and she stormed out. It's okay, she's probably at Marshall and Lily's."

"Okay…call me when you find her, alright?"

"Okay." Barney replied before hanging up.

He dialed Lily's number. She picked up quickly, like she was already awake.

"Hey Barn." Her voice was too awake and perky to have just been woken up.

"Hey Lil, is Robin with you?" Barney asked.

"Uhh," Lily hesitated, "Nope."

"Okay." He hung up before she could ask any questions. Now he was really worried. Where could she be? She couldn't have gotten a hotel, she had no credit cards or money. As he was deciding on his next move, his phone buzzed. He quickly picked it up and read the message.

 ** _Marshall:_** _Barney, Robin's over here. She told us not to tell you, but Lily had the phone on speaker and you sounded worried. Don't tell her I told you, because I am petrified of your wife._

Barney texted back a quick thanks and dropped the phone in relief. She was safe. She was fine. Thank god. He knew what he said before, but he doubted he'd actually be able to live with himself if something actually had happened to her or the babies.

 ** _Marshall:_** _So, we'll see you tomorrow at T &T's? _

**_Barney:_** _I'll be there._

Ted and Tracy were hosting one of their barbeques tomorrow. They find any excuse to host a barbeque, and this time it was something along the lines of a mid-spring-bash. Barney dropped his phone and went into the bedroom, then drifted to sleep quickly.

…

Tracy, Ted and Barney were already seated outside when the Eriksen tribe and Robin arrived at the Mosby's house the next day. Marvin and Daisy sprinted off in the direction of the trampoline, where Penny was already playing and Florence toddled over to play with Luke's toys. Barney looked up and relief flooded his eyes when he locked his gaze with Robin. He passed her a bag from beside him. She glanced inside. He had packed her a change of clothes so she didn't have to wear yesterdays. It was a sweet gesture, but she was still mad at him. Honestly, he was still mad at her too.

…

It wasn't until later the pains started. They were subtle at first, but quickly became intense. Robin had been in the kitchen buttering hot dog buns on her own when Barney walked inside. She was doubled over, a one-handed grip on the counter so hard her knuckles were white, and the other arm tossed over her stomach.

"Robin?" Barney dropped the plate of sausages. He ran to her side and put his arms around her waist, providing her more support.

"Everything hurts, and I'm bleeding." She whimpered. His heart was pounding and he was extremely anxious, but he stayed strong for her.

"It's okay, everything's going to be just fine. We're gonna get you to a hospital, alright?" He reassured her. She nodded. The room was spinning and black dots were dancing in front of her eyes. "CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GET IN HERE AND CALL AMBULANCE!" Barney screamed to the gang. Marshall was inside within a millisecond. He saw how the two were standing and quickly dialed 911. Robin closed her eyes. She was so damn tired. "Baby?" Barney's voice faded out into blackness.

…

 **A/N**

 **Yes, that's where I'm leaving it! Don't hate me too much! And don't worry, everything will be fine eventually. It's not going to turn weird or anything, I promise. This is just simply a bump in the road. I'll try and update very soon. Please review!**


	9. A Case Of The Ex

**A/N**

 **Hey guys! Thank you to all the new readers, I'm super happy to see so many people enjoying this story! Or at least tolerating it enough to keep reading, lol. The reviews make me especially happy. Please keep R/R! :)**

…

When Robin woke up, she was in a bed. Hospital. She kept her eyes firmly shut, not wanting to face the possibility of what could've possibly happened. She rolled over and realized how soft the sheets were. The mattress was soft too. She was too comfortable to be in a hospital bed. She opened her eyes and realized she was at home. In her and Barney's bed. What was going on? The bathroom door was closed but light was spilling out from under the crack.

"Barney?" She called. Her voice was raspy and quiet. She was trying not to panic over both her own, and her children's health, but it wasn't working. The bathroom door opened and she shielded her eyes from the light. Barney quickly pounced on the light switch, turning it off.

"Hey, how are you feeling? I didn't think you'd be awake for a while." He came over and sat on the bed beside her.

She cleared her throat. "Fine, I guess. What's wrong?" She was desperate.

"It's okay. Don't worry. You're fine, the babies are fine. Everyone's okay." He replied, running his hands through her hair in an attempt to calm her.

"But…what happened?" Robin asked, confused.

"It was just stress, baby. Stress was causing the cramping, and the pains caused you to pass out. The bleeding is natural, and happens sometimes during pregnancy."

She threw her head into her hands. "You were right, I was working too hard and stressing and I could've-"

"Hey, stop it." Barney chided. "It wasn't your fault. I know what I said on Friday night but I didn't mean it, okay? It was that fight that caused everything to happen anyways."

She nodded. "What's going to happen for the rest of the pregnancy?"

"You've gotta go on maternity leave, now. I'm taking paid leave, because I want to be home with you, in case something goes wrong or you need me."

"Is that going to mess up the paternity leave?" Robin inquired. They had had long, heated discussions about what they were going to do for parental leave after the babies were born. Robin was taking the normal paid five months of maternity leave, and Barney was taking a month. For men, the amount of paid paternity leave is supposed to be two weeks, but Barney is the master of the possimpible and conned his boss into giving him twice as long.

He shook his head. "Nah. It's all good." Honestly, they didn't need the extra money. They could both easily take unpaid leave, and it wouldn't make a dent. But, they wanted to be comfortable and the large sums of money they had stockpiled in bank accounts assured a soft cushion if something were to go wrong and they needed money.

"Have you already talked to my boss or do I have to go in to speak to him tomorrow?" Robin asked.

Barney ran a hand through his hair. "Crap, that's right. I forgot to talk to him. It's okay, I'll go into your office now."

Robin looked confused. "Isn't it Sunday?"

Barney shook his head. "Nope. Monday."

"What? Does that mean I was asleep for two solid days?"

"Most of Saturday and almost all of Sunday. You woke up for about ten minutes early on Sunday morning, but were pretty out of it. I doubt you'd remember. You started freaking out and I couldn't calm you down, so the doctor sedated you." Barney explained.

"Yet I'm still tired."

Barney laughed and kissed her temple. "You stay here and rest. We're not out of the woods yet. Something could still happen. I'll go talk to your boss. I'll be back soon."

"Okay. Can you get my keys? I left them there." He nodded, then lent down and kissed her, lingering for a few seconds, before getting up and leaving the room.

…

The World Wide News studio was busy and bustling when Barney arrived. The lobby was crowded, as everyone was trying to get through security and up into the building. Barney pushed past fans who were standing outside, trying to be in the background of shots. He stood at the back of the room, waiting until everyone else was in. Luckily, one of the security guards recognized him and allowed him to go up, otherwise he'd probably have to go home and get Robin's ID. Once he was in the building, he got someone to direct him to Michael McCain's office. He knocked on the door.

"Come in." The man boomed from inside the office. Barney pushed the door open and stepped inside. Robin's boss looked confused. "Barney?"

"Hey Michael." He reached a hand out in front of him to shake hands with the man. The two men had talked before, mostly at Christmas parties and other events. He had been at the wedding and baby shower.

"What can I do for you?" McCain asked as he sat back down in his desk chair. Barney sunk into the chair opposite him.

He cleared his throat, suddenly nervous. "We need to talk about Robin."

"I figured. What specifically?"

"She needs to take maternity leave right now."

Michael cocked his head. "She seemed insistent on waiting another week. Why the change in heart?"

"We had a scare on Saturday morning, and she was in hospital all weekend. Everything's okay now. The doctor told us this is the best thing to do is for her to stop working. She needs rest." Barney explained.

"She can absolutely have the time off now. No problems. Tell her I said feel better, okay?"

"Sure. Thank you." Barney stood up and shook hands with the man, before getting the out of his office. Michael intimated him. He wasn't actually sure how, he just did. Barney walked towards Robin's office, politely greeting some of the people he knew along the way. He swung open the door and searched through her stuff, looking for her keys. God knows where she could've put them. He finds random objects in strange parts of the house, but knows better than to question her.

"Hey Robin, I know we don't talk a lot, but could you please proofread -" Someone came into the room while Barney was on the ground, searching through Robin's bottom draw. He recognized the voice. It was sweet and feminine. And English. Why was it so familiar to him? He looked up. "Barney?" She was equally as shocked as him.

He saw the keys at the bottom of the draw and grabbed them, before quickly standing up and looking at her, his eyes wide. "Nora?"

"What…what are you doing here?"

Barney held up the keys, as if that was an explanation. "Robin left them here, so she asked me to pick them up."

Nora looked confused but she nodded anyway. As Barney lowered his arm, she caught a glimpse of his left hand. "Is that a wedding ring?"

Barney was puzzled. Did she not know that he and Robin were married? "Uh…yeah? I thought you knew that."

"To who?" Nora demanded.

"Robin." He replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "How didn't you know that? You work with her!"

"I don't. I'm in a different department."

"Well, it's not like we hid it. She changed her name, and uses that."

"How long after we broke up was it before you and her started dating?"

Why did she sound so pissed? "That's not really any of your business, Nora. I've been in love with that girl for eleven years and have every right to be with her."

"Does that mean you were in love with someone else when we dated? Is she who you cheated on me with?"

"Yes." Barney whispered. "But it was eight years ago. Honestly Nora."

"You don't even realize how painful that was for me. And I thought you had a one night stand with some random girl who doesn't mean anything to you, but no. You cheated on me with one of your best friends. You are the actual devil, Barney Stinson." She stopped to calm herself down a little. Then took a deep breath before continuing. "Why, Barney? Why did you sleep with Robin while we were dating?"

Barney looked at his watch and grimaced. He'd been gone for almost an hour, and hadn't meant to leave Robin alone for long. He couldn't stop picturing something terrible happening. "Sorry, but I don't have time for this. I really need to go. I need to get home."

"I'm talking to you -"

She was interrupted by Patrice entering the room. "Barney! How's Robin? I just heard what happened. Is she okay?"

"She's doing alright. We have to be super careful for the next five weeks though, so she's off now and won't be back until the leave is up in October. Thank god we got her to the hospital when we did, or the consequences could've been dire." Barney replied, ignoring Nora.

"A bunch of us want to visit, is this afternoon okay? I'll bring cookies!" Patrice squealed.

"Sure. Thank you, I'm sure she'd love visitors." He lied. Robin would rather have her teeth ripped out then have people from work visiting her while she's sick. But he couldn't exactly say no. "Okay, I gotta go now. I don't want to leave Robin alone for any longer. Bye Patrice, bye Nora." He grinned at the two ladies and grabbed Robin's keys off the desk again.

"What happened to Robin?" He heard Nora ask as he walked way. He hoped Patrice wouldn't be too specific. God knows what Nora would do if she knew Robin was pregnant.

Once Barney was in the cab, he really thought about what was going through Nora's mind. What she would feel if she found out her ex was married and expecting a baby. He imagined what it would feel like if he and Robin hadn't worked out, and lost touch. What he would feel like if he found out she was married and pregnant. He would feel crappy. Like he'd lost or something.

When Barney entered the apartment, he was greeted with the sight of Robin out cold on the couch, a fluffy blanket over her. He smiled, and pulled his shoes off, then his suit jacket and tie, and climbed onto the couch to spoon her.

…

Later that week, at 8am on Friday morning, Robin woke up and instantly began hitting Barney's shoulder in attempt to wake him.

"Barney!" She hissed at him. When he stayed unresponsive, she made her voice more urgent, in pain almost. "Barney! Wake up!" She must have done a good job, because he woke up with a start.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He asked, expecting her to say her water had broken.

She grinned. "We're out of butterscotch. Can you go get me some? Please?"

He sighed and rolled over, getting out of bed. "Fine."

"Thanks! I love you."

"Love you too."

…

He was gone for a long time, and when he finally got back, she was out of bed and dressed. He opened the door and placed a bag of butterscotch and some other sweet foods she's craved lately in her hands.

"Thank you. What took you so long?" She asked.

He grinned and seemed excited. "Come with me. I have a surprise."

"Okay…"

"Close your eyes." She obeyed and he grabbed her hand, leading her out of the apartment.

"I swear to god Barney Stinson, if you guide me into a wall I will-"

"I'm not going to guide you into anything."

She felt the cool air of the street hitting her face. "Where are we going?"

"Here. Open your eyes." She did and her mouth dropped open when she looked at the brand new car parked in front of their building.

"Oh my god, Barney!" She was amazed. The car was beautiful.

"We've been talking about getting a car, and you said you don't care what model. I figured we need this before the babies get here, because we sure as hell aren't taking a cab to the hospital, let alone bringing newborns home in one. So, voila!" He explained. "It's super safe, I made sure of that and buying it didn't even make a dent in our account. I even installed the car seats for the twins." He opened the back door and she examined the two baby seats.

"Wow. I love it." She grinned. "Thank you for not dragging me with you to buy it." She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her head to his chest.

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. "No problem."

…

 **A/N**

 **Originally, the last parts were another chapter, but I want them to have the babies soon so I can start writing the parenting side of them, so merged them together. Look out for next chapter, that may be the birth one! Also, I love bringing exes/recurring characters back, so people like Victoria and Kevin may be featured in one chapter :)**


	10. Mommy and Daddy

**A/N**

 **Referring to Robin and Barney and mommy and daddy feels so natural, for some reason. I really wish their baby was canon. Okay, sorry, no talking about sad things. This is a happy chapter! Please R/R! :)**

…

It was May 14th, 2018. Marvin's sixth birthday party. Family only. Barney and Robin neared the picnic table the rest of the gang was sitting at. Barney looked over to where Marvin, Daisy, Florence, Penny and Luke were playing. He squeezed Robin's hand tighter. She was due in three weeks, and he couldn't wait until their children could play with their cousins.

"Hey!" Barney called out, as soon as they were in earshot of the rest of the gang.

"Hey guys!" Lily called, running to meet the two halfway. She wrapped the both up in a hug, before turning to call out to her son. "MARVIN! AUNT ROBIN AND UNCLE BARNEY ARE HERE!" The six-year-old came running and flung himself into their arms.

"Hey Marv, happy birthday!" Robin said, handing him his gift. He ran and put it next to the one from the Mosby's and then ran back to the rest of the kids. Lily, Barney and Robin went over to the picnic table to sit with the others.

"Gouda?" Marshall asked, shoving a plate under Robin's nose.

"Marshall! Get that away from her!" Lily hissed. Both Robin and Marshall looked at her curiously. "It's unpasteurized cheese. There's a chemical in it that often leads to stillbirth."

Marshall quickly jerked the plate away from Robin. "Never mind."

"So, what's going on?" Robin asked, pulling a bowl of potato chips towards her. Ted had been eating out of it, and he glared at her. She grinned.

…

The contractions didn't start until a little later. Marshall and Ted were serving food and juice boxes to the kids, and Lily and Tracy were trying to get them to stop pulling each other's hair and sit down. Barney and Robin were sitting watching them, and giggling. The first pain started, and Robin reached for Barney's hand, unsure of what was happening. He misread it as her thinking about what it's going to be like in a couple of months, with the twins here, and squeezed her hand gently, before turning back to watch their nieces and nephews.

…

Once lunch was finished, Luke and Florence were getting grumpy, so Tracy and Marshall put them down for naps in Robin and Barney's arms, while Ted played tag with the kids to keep them entertained, and Lily started putting candles on the cake. Luke was big for a one-year-old and wriggled like crazy in Barney's arms, kicking him in multiple spots. Florence, who took on her mother's small frame, was quiet and slept peacefully in Robin's.

Lily groaned miserably as the wind blew the candles out on the cake for the fourth time. "Come on!"

"Can we just eat the cake, Lil?" Robin asked, drooling. It looked delicious.

"No." Lily replied. She flicked the lighter on again and managed to light half of the candles. She was working on the forth, when Robin exhaled sharply in pain, blowing them out again. "Robin!" Lily moaned, drawing out the syllables in her name.

Robin however, didn't give a crap about the candles. She had just realized what was going on inside her body. She looked at Marvin, Daisy and Penny, who had integrated over to the table with cake and candy, their tag game disregarded. Instead of announcing anything out loud, she texted Barney, he phone hidden under the table. Telepathic conversations were too risky. One of the others might comprehend, and freak out.

 ** _Robin:_** _Babe, don't make a big deal of it, but my water just broke and I've been having contractions for over an hour._

She nudged him when the message sent. He looked at her curiously and she pointed silently to his phone. He picked it up and read the message, eyes widening.

 ** _Barney:_** _Crap, are you serious?_

 ** _Robin:_** _Yes! Why would I joke about that?_

 ** _Barney:_** _Good point, sorry. Alright, we need to get out of here right now. Are you okay?_

 ** _Robin:_** _I'm in labor, Barney. Get your head out of your ass. I'm scared as hell and everything hurts._

He grimaced at her and then slid his phone into his pocket. He wanted to freak out, scream and run around the park, announcing to every random stranger that his wife was in labor, but he couldn't. He had to stay calm. He wasn't the one who was allowed to get scared, and freak out. He had to be strong, for Robin.

Barney noticed that for a woman who would be giving birth very soon, she seemed calm. That was just in her nature, to stay calm and the voice of reason in stressful, devastating or difficult situations. Barney stood up and walked over to Lily, then calmly whispered what was going on in her ear. Her eyes widened and she nodded, telling him it was fine if they left early.

"Marvin, sorry to leave your party, buddy, but Aunt Robin…doesn't feel great, and I have to take her home. Is that okay?" Barney asked.

"Okay. Feel better Aunt Robin." Marvin replied, standing up to hug his aunt. Lily quickly texted Barney.

 ** _Lily:_** _Promise you'll call us when you go to the hospital, we want to be there._

 ** _Barney:_** _Okay, I promise._

…

"That's another one." Robin groaned. In the beginning, the contractions hadn't been painful, but now they were excruciatingly unbearable.

Barney clicked the stopwatch off. "Seven minutes. We're getting there, babe." He rubbed her back, feeling bad that he had put her through this much pain. It was even worse knowing that she always does everything possible to hide her pain and emotions, so for her to be acting like this, it must hurt a hell of a lot.

"It hurts so much Barney." She whimpered.

"I know. I'm sorry." He replied.

…

It was ten at night. Barney was awake and laying on his side. He knew he should be sleeping, in preparation for the next two or three years of screaming children, but he couldn't fall asleep. He watched Robin. She was finally sleeping. Good. He knew it wouldn't be too long until they could finally go to the hospital, since her contractions were growing closer apart, and would be at five minutes soon. It was taking a long time. She had been in labor since 1pm. That's nine hours. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep.

…

Barney awoke to a slap on his arm. His eyes shot open and he looked at the woman beside him. Normally, it's a peaceful and lovely sight to wake up to in the morning, but tonight, she looked so worried that it just filled him with dread for the next few hours, but also excitement. He couldn't wait to meet his babies.

With the combined efforts of glancing at what the stopwatch in Robin's hand read, and her attempting to catch her breath, he knew. "Come on, babe. Let's get you to the hospital." Barney said, climbing out of bed and pulling open drawers to find her clothes.

…

They pulled into the hospital just past midnight. Barney opened Robin's door and grabbed her bag. He tightly grabbed her hand and held it as they went into the building.

"Crap, I forgot the bag with the baby stuff." Barney stated, as he noticed a bag missing.

"We can go home." Robin suggested, clearly still in pain and wanting nothing less than to have to go back home again.

"No, it's okay. Marshall and Lily can pick it up for us."

"Are they coming now?"

"As soon as I text them and tell them to come they will. Lily made me promise. I think Ted and Trace will come too." Barney replied, as they entered the lobby. Robin nodded, and Barney stepped up to the counter to get her a room.

…

As soon as Robin was settled in a room and comfortable, Barney pulled out his phone to text the gang. He got up their group chat, and they all replied almost instantly.

 ** _Barney:_** _We're at the hospital, if you want to come over. You don't have to, it's totally up to you guys._

 ** _Lily:_** _Marshall and I are on our way. My dad's here, he can stay with the kids._

 ** _Tracy:_** _Us too. Ted just ran next door to see if the neighbors will take Penny and Luke. How's Robin?_

 ** _Barney:_** _Okay, she's a little scared. Me too. We're both excited though._

 ** _Lily:_** _I'm excited too. I can't wait to meet MY goddaughters!_

 ** _Ted:_** _Who said you and Marshall are gonna be the godparents?_

Barney grinned. He and Robin had decided on the godparents already, and couldn't wait to tell the others. He wasn't dropping any clues yet though.

 ** _Barney:_** _Stop fighting. Can someone stop at our apartment? There's a bag in the nursery we forgot._

 ** _Marshall:_** _Sure._

Barney slipped his phone back into his pocket just in time for Doctor Bailey to walk in and start talking to the two.

…

Half an hour later, all they knew was that Robin was six cm dilated, and things were moving much faster now. The doctor left, saying she'd be back in another half an hour to check again. Robin groaned and lent back on the pillows, pulling Barney's hand closer to her body. He reached over her body with his other hand and brushed her hair out of her face.

"You feeling okay?" Barney asked.

"It could and will be worse."

Barney kissed her forehead. "You've got this."

Another contraction hit, and it was worse than all the others combined. Robin cried out in pain and squeezed Barney's hand so hard, he was pretty sure it would leave a bruise. He didn't complain though. She was going through ten times the amount of pain he was. Barney racked his brain to think of something he could say to distract her, while she continued screaming in anguish. He had an idea.

"Wanna hear my middle name ideas?" He asked. She nodded, unable to speak. "I'm thinking Sparkles and Barnabeth."

"TELL ME YOU'RE JOKING!" She screamed through the contraction.

"Yeah, kinda. Although Barnabeth-" Robin shot him a look so severe that he shut up. "Sorry, not the best time for jokes."

"JUST TELL ME!"

He did and she loved them. Good. He had been so worried. He had scrolled through pregnancy site after pregnancy site and posted polls of the forums, but had finally settled. He loved them and was so glad his wife agreed.

…

Robin thought the pain of contractions was bad. The pain from the actual labor was so much worse.

"Keep going, you're almost there!" Doctor Bailey prompted.

"Yeah, you're doing great, just a few-"

Robin cut her husband off. "SHUT UP!"

Neither Barney nor Robin could describe the immensely overwhelming feeling they had when, only a few minutes later, the room was filled with the sound of a baby's cries. The midwife quickly took the baby from the doctor and put her on her mother's chest. Robin was crying. She already loved this little girl so much. This beautiful little girl. Under the doctor's instructions, she kept going to deliver baby number two. Before she knew it, their second daughter was placed in Barney's arms.

"I love you three so much." Barney whispered, referring to the twins and Robin. He was entranced by their identical twins. Both girls had his big, deep, blue eyes and Robin's brunette curls. They were both so gorgeous, like their mother.

"I love you too, daddy." Robin replied. Barney laughed. Robin turned back to the girls. "Welcome to the world my darlings." Barney turned his head and kissed her. He was still in awe. They were parents.

"I hate to break up the moment here, but we need to weigh and rinse the babies." A nurse interrupted. Barney jumped up with one of the twins and followed her to the bathtub.

…

Twenty minutes later, both the girls were clean and dry. They were dressed in different coloured floral swaddles they had received from the Eriksen's at the baby shower and matching fabric headbands, instead of the ugly hospital blankets. Barney and Robin had also chosen which baby was getting which name.

Robin turned to Barney. "We should tell the gang."

"Good idea. I'll be back in a second." He stood up and walked out of the room, still holding the baby. He was pretty sure that it was against hospital regulations to take the newborns out of the rooms, but didn't really care. The waiting room was just around the corner, anyway.

Marshall, Lily, Ted and Tracy were still all sitting in those uncomfortable hospital chairs. Barney knew from experience how uncomfortable they were. He had sat in them for hours on end, three times (minus Daisy who had been born in Italy, and Luke who was born in Farhampton). It was nearly three am, but they didn't look that tired.

He cleared his throat. "Hey guys." All four adults looked up at him.

"OH MY GOD!" Lily screamed, jumping off the chair and scrambling towards her friend.

"Shh." He said, already protective towards the sleeping baby.

"She's gorgeous!" Tracy cooed.

Ted stroked the newborn's head. "Congrats, Barney."

"What's her name?" Marshall asked.

Barney looked around nervously, afraid of being caught and getting yelled at. He started towards Robin's room, and gestured for them to follow. He opened the door and took his place by his wife's bedside again, while the others pulled up chairs.

Robin smiled, as they all sat around her. She glanced at the baby in her arms, and then at the one in Barney's. "Guys, meet your goddaughters, Everly Elyse and Aurelia Rose."

"Those names are absolutely beautiful." Lily breathed, truly in awe. Everly had been on her list for Florence, but Everly Eriksen was a little bit of a mouthful.

"I agree, well picked guys." Tracy added.

"The French relation between Rose and Elyse is spectacular and-" Ted started.

Robin cut him off. "Oh my god! Shut up, Ted. We didn't pick our daughter's names based off the French origin." Barney and Tracy snickered, while Ted sunk in his chair.

"Evie and Lia." Marshall recited.

"So…godparents?" Lily asked.

Barney and Robin laughed and looked at each other. "Marshall and Lily, you two are Everly's godparents, and Ted and Tracy, you two are Aurelia's. If you want to, that is." Robin replied.

"Hell yes!" Lily cried.

"What if you have another baby?" Ted asked.

Barney laughed. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. _If_ we come to it."

…

 **A/N**

 **Holy crap that was a hard chapter to write! I wanted to break away from the cliché going into labour at 2am thing. It's not written amazingly, because I kept a lot of the draft from years ago. Please review! And tell me if you like the names, too, because it took me ages to come up with them :)**


	11. Evie and Lia

**A/N**

 **I wanted to change the layout a little, and personally love the social media format. This is kinda a collection of first day in the hospital/ first few days at home. I hope you like it! And as always, please R/R! :)**

...

The twins had been born at 3:07am and 3:09am on Sunday, May 15th, 2018. Robin was glad they had been born on the fifteenth, because having to share a birthday with each other _and_ Marvin would be hard. By 5am, the rest of the gang decided to go home, promising to be back to visit later that day. They needed sleep first. Since it was Sunday, Barney and Robin assumed they would have a lot of visitors.

As soon as the gang left, Barney and Robin called their families. Loretta cried of happiness, Genevieve squealed, Katie was annoyed that they didn't name either baby after her, but was happy and James promised to come visit later that morning. Robin refused to call her dad though.

"Come on, babe. He needs to know he's a grandfather."

"No. I'm not letting him near our daughters." Robin replied.

Barney sighed. She's stubborn. He knew he wasn't getting his way. "Fine."

…

By 6am, Robin had fallen asleep with both the twins on her chest. Barney smiled endearingly at the three. He loved all of them so damn much. He took this opportunity to take out his phone and log onto social media. The last thing he posted was two hours ago and it was a picture of Robin holding Everly and Aurelia, her eyes transfixed on their little faces. The caption read **_'My favourite three girls. I love you so much. Welcome to the world Everly and Aurelia. robinstinson.'_** The post had 203 likes and eight comments, mostly from the gang and family members. He clicked on Robin's profile.

"Holy crap, babe. You have over 1.5 million followers." Barney whispered, to nobody in particular. Robin was asleep and couldn't hear him.

He clicked on the photo she posted. It was a picture Lily had taken of the twins laying on the bed, side by side. Everly's eyes were open and filled with intrigue while beside her, Aurelia had a her tiny hand in the air and her head resting against her sisters. The caption simply stated **_'After fourteen hours of labour, Everly Elyse and Aurelia Rose are here. This is the big wide world, girlies. I love you and your daddy so much.'_** The post already had 5.8k likes and 104 comments. He scrolled through some of them:

 ** _patricelovespuppies:_** Robin, omg! They're beautiful and they look like you!

 ** _katiescherbatsky:_** Yay! :)

 ** _garyblauman:_** I'm so happy for you guys! Can't believe Robin and Barney Stinson are PARENTS!

 ** _michaelmccain:_** Congratulations! Bring them by the office sometime, okay?

 ** _disney_lover_2003:_** When will you be back at WWN? The news isn't the same without you!

Barney's mouth dropped open, not really realizing just how popular his wife was. He was overwhelmingly proud of her, and realized why she didn't really freak out a lot when she was told she was pregnant. She was at a higher point in her career than she ever could've dreamed of. Taking the next step in their relationship was obviously something she wanted. So did he. He couldn't be happier with their little girls.

…

"Uncle James is here!" James announced, as he confidently strode into the hospital room. "That feels so right to say!"

"Hey bro." Barney said.

"Hi Barn." James quickly greeted, before making a beeline for Robin. "Hey sis-in-law!" He pulled her into a hug. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired and sore, but I'm happy." She smiled at the sleeping baby in her arms. "Wanna hold her?"

He nodded profusely and she gently placed Everly into his arms. "Hi sweetheart." James whispered. "What's her name?"

"Everly." Barney smiled. "Everly Elyse Stinson."

"And her sister?"

"Aurelia Rose Stinson." Robin supplied.

James smiled. "I really like it."

The door crashed open again and Tom, Eli and Sadie stepped in. "Sorry, we couldn't wait. Sadie was getting impatient." Tom explained. Sadie ran to her aunt and hugged her, Eli and Tom following suite.

"Okay, does nobody care about me? I just became a parent too." Barney asked.

James laughed. "You didn't do anything, Barney."

"What! I just endured fourteen hours of having the life squeezed out of my hand!"

"Yeah, and I just gave birth. Let's swap places next time."

James raised an eyebrow. "Next time?"

Barney winked. "Maybe."

…

At about eleven o'clock, Lily and Marshall came back to the hospital. Ted and Tracy had taken all the Eriksen and Mosby kids to the cinema, allowing the other two adults to spend some time with Barney, Robin and the twins. They'd swap later so Tracy and Ted could come. Lily quietly opened the door to the Stinson's room and peaked in, afraid of waking someone. She was relieved to see all four awake. Barney was on his knees beside the bed, holding his iPhone up taking pictures, while Robin was cooing to the girls and getting them into the right positions.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" Lily asked as she and Marshall entered the room.

"Our mom's want pictures. So many damn pictures." Barney replied, without looking up from the phone. Everly started crying, so Robin reached forward to pick her up and soothe her.

"Okay that's probably enough photos, Barn." She said, as the baby calmed down.

Lily leant forward and picked Aurelia up. "Oh, hello little baby Evie. I'm your godmother." She cooed.

Robin and Barney both snickered, causing them te receive confused looks from Marshall and Lily. "Sorry. That's Aurelia." Robin explained.

"Wow, I'm impressed you can tell the difference so easily." Marshall said.

Barney shrugged. "They're our babies. We know."

Robin snorted. "Says the guy who forgot which one was which literally ten minutes ago."

"Robin, just…okay?" He replied, sulking and causing the other three to laugh.

…

Late that night, Robin awoke to small grunting sound from the baby on her chest. She was laying on her back, arms protectively holding Aurelia in place. Barney was in bed beside her, his arms wrapped around her. She turned her head to the side and saw Everly sleeping peacefully in her bassinet.

"Shh." Robin whispered, in attempt to calm her daughter, whose grunts hand turned into cries. "Come on, baby girl. Don't wake daddy." It felt so weird referring to Barney Stinson as daddy, but it also filled her with pride and happiness.

The man stirred beside her and opened his eyes, yawing. "Hey."

"Hey." She smiled.

"Looks like someone's hungry."

"No kidding, I'm starving. Can you get something please?"

"Sure, babe." He responded, climbing out of bed and blindly looking for his shoes. "Are you going to be okay to feed her on your own?"

"I think I'll manage to feed my daughter on my own, Barn." She replied, rolling her eyes.

He laughed and approached the bassinet to check on Everly. "Evie's okay. She's not huge on cuddling, you know? I tried to get her to sleep on my chest like Lia was doing with you, but she didn't like it."

"Huh. It's funny how she can have this whole little personality when she's not even a day old yet."

"Yeah." Barney agreed, fingering the blanked wrapped around his daughter. "I still can't believe you and I are parents. These two little girls depend on us."

"Crazy, isn't it?" Robin responded, rather calmly. She couldn't believe how lightly she took that sentence. Seven years ago, it would've scared the crap out of her, but now she wasn't even startled. Somehow, she knew she and Barney would be fine. These babies would be fine with them. Their family would be okay.

…

Luckily for Barney and Robin, the twins passed the general health tests with flying colors, so they were given the all clear to go home at around ten the next day. They'd only been there for about thirty-four hours, but to Barney, it had felt like years.

He felt proud, and very dad-like, to be carrying one of _his_ children out of the hospital. His and Robin's relationship had been through hell and back, but against all odds, they were together and _parents_ to two gorgeous little girls. He shifted one of the many bags he was carrying on his shoulder. Robin didn't pack light. She had brought multiple bags of clothes just for the twins.

They secured the girls in their carseats, then climbed into their seats. Barney insisted on driving unreasonably slow, going way under the speed limit, in fear of crashing the car.

"You're driving like Ted. I swear to god if you get leather driving gloves, I'm divorcing you." Robin complained.

Barney laughed. "I will never wear leather driving gloves."

…

"Mr Stinson! Can I take something?" Fredrick asked, quickly opening the door and holding it for the pair. Robin had a baby in the crook of each elbow, and Barney was behind her, struggling with the bags and gifts they had gotten from family and friends while in the hospital.

"Thanks Freddy." Barney responded, allowing the man to take a few bags off him.

"No problem. And congratulations." He smiled towards Robin and the girls.

Barney and Robin got up to their apartment, and Barney searched his pockets for the key. Robin leant on her husband.

She yawned. "I'm exhausted."

"Me too. You can go to bed, I'll settle the girls and then join you." Barney replied.

"Thank you."

Barney found the keys and opened the door. He dumped the bags on the couch, then took Aurelia and Everly from his wife's arms. She disappeared into the bedroom, and he took the girls into the nursery. There was a note on the door.

 ** _Barney and Robin,_**

 ** _You're probably tired, so we cleaned the apartment for you and stocked up on groceries. Don't worry, we used one of the credit cards we found on the kitchen table._**

 ** _-Tracy & Lily _**

**_xoxo_**

Barney smiled. He was very appreciative of the fact that they had done that. He opened the door and put Aurelia down in her crib. She was already asleep. Everly, on the other hand was awake and crying.

"What do you want, baby girl?" He asked, swaying on his feet and trying to calm her. She wasn't hungry, Robin had feed them before they left the hospital. He continued humming and bouncing her, until a smell flooded the nursery. "Crap, you need a new diaper, don't you?"

Fear flew through his veins. He hadn't done this before, he didn't know what to do. At the hospital, the nurses had done it. He was already failing as a father. He didn't even know how to change his daughter's diaper. He placed her on the changing table and pulled out his phone, frantically dialling Lily's number. She answered, and he desperately explained the situation. After she finished laughing, she promised to be right over.

Lily got into the apartment five minutes later. Nobody was in the living room, so she put her bag on the table and looked around.

"Barney? Robin?" She called.

"In the nursery!" Barney whisper-shouted back, careful not to wake Robin.

Lily followed his voice and opened the door she knew led to the babies' room. The room was dark, and she noticed one baby asleep in her crib. She didn't know which one she was. Barney was standing at the end of the room, humming and murmuring to his other daughter.

"Hey, where's Robin?" Lily asked, approaching Barney.

He smiled as a greeting. "Asleep. Now, please help me!"

"I got this." She laughed.

She demonstrated what to do and then talked him through how to actually change a diaper. He nodded and continued humming to Everly the whole time. When he was done, Lily picked the baby who was still making small sobbing noises up.

"When did you last feed her?"

"Lily, don't. This isn't James' kid I'm babysitting, this is my newborn. I know how to care for her. Robin fed them before we left, and the nurse was showing her how to pump." Barney replied, irritated that Lily would suggest he didn't know what his kid needed. Not knowing, and not being able to do something are completely different.

"Okay, I'm sorry."

…

For the eighth time that night, Robin woke to the sound of crying. She looked over at her husband. Barney was out cold. She groaned and stumbled out of bed, and into the nursery. Aurelia was crying, and Everly was beginning to stir at the sound of her sister's sobs.

"Shh. Come on, baby girl." Robin cooed. She reached into the crib and pulled her daughter into her arms and whisked her out of the room, so she didn't wake Evie.

She took her out onto the balcony and closed the door. Robin swayed and whispered to Aurelia, begging her to sleep. She sighed. It wasn't working. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Robin begun to sing. "Met you at the mall…"

At the sound of her mother singing, Aurelia began to calm and drift off to sleep. Robin sighed in relief, and continued singing a few more lines. She basked in the cool spring breeze and smiled.

"Sweet dreams, baby girl."

…

 **A/N**

 **Finally! That chapter took AGES to write. I kept taking things out and then adding them in and rewriting them. I couldn't decide whether or not to keep certain parts. I can't decide on keeping the twins newborns for another chapter or skipping to a month old…I decide. Hope you liked it, please review!**


	12. Five Years and Counting

**A/N**

 **I was going to skip straight to the twins as one-month-olds, but I couldn't stop myself from writing this chapter, so I thought there was no harm in putting it into the story. Oh well, you don't mind, right? Love you guys :)**

 **…**

Barney grinned as he watched Robin devour a plate of ribs from across the table. It had been five years, he had seen her at her best and at her worst. He'd seen her fall apart and so often break the façade she puts up for the rest of the world. He'd seen her sick, sobbing and sweating. Yet he was still more attracted to her than he had ever been to anyone. That's just love.

He shook himself out of his sappy thoughts. Ted must be getting to him. He should just be enjoying the moment with his wife. They had gotten Marshall and Lily to babysit Everly and Aurelia, who were now just ten days old, while they went out to dinner. It was a special occasion, their fifth wedding anniversary.

"I propose a toast." Barney said, holding his champagne glass up. It was filled with lemonade, not booze, because Robin's still nursing, and he didn't want to be teasing and drink in front of her. He hadn't all during her pregnancy, so why stop now?

"What to?" Robin questioned, copying his movement and holding her glass up.

"To the last five years, to the next five years, to everything we have that we never thought we'd want. To our bizarre but awesome relationship." Barney recited. Robin smiled. The two bumped glasses and took a sip.

Robin laughed. "God, five years. Who would've thought?"

"I know right! I can't believe we made it this far." Barney agreed. "Remember when we first kissed?"

Robin smiled, reminiscent of their twenties and early thirties. "It was on the couch in my apartment after Simon dumped me, while we were watching Sandcastles in The Sand. We reached a lot of firsts that night." They high fived without even looking.

"Remember that summer when we had a secret relationship?"

"I remember you locking me in a storm trooper for 382 minutes." Robin replied, somewhat bitterly, but mostly jokingly.

Barney laughed. "We've done some pretty legendary stuff, Scherbatsky." Robin went by Stinson now, but old habits die hard, and Barney occasionally still uses her maiden name for a nickname.

Robin smiled. "Yeah. Yeah we have."

The two picked at their meals for a few more minutes, until Barney looked up. "I'm tired and I miss the girls."

"Me too. Wanna go home?"

"I'll get the check." Barney bounded out of his seat quickly, delighted to be going home to their daughters. As much as he loves and craves alone time with Robin, he found himself constantly wondering and worrying about the twins. Were they alright? Were they behaving for Marshall and Lily?

…

"I hear cries. That's not a good sign." Robin stated as she and Barney neared their apartment door.

"Lily and Marshall were so sure they could handle them when we left." Barney snickered. He tightened his grip around Robin's waist as he opened the door handle.

The sight that greeted them was hilarious. Lily was bouncing and cooing desperately at a sobbing Evie in her arms. Marshall was holding Aurelia, who was also crying her little lungs out, to his shoulder with one hand and trying to simultaneously trying to fill a bottle with breast milk.

"MARSHALL, SHE NEEDS FOOD!" Lily yelled, neither seeming to notice Barney and Robin were standing in the doorway, giggling.

"I'M TRYING LILY!" He yelled back. "CAN'T YOU JUST FEED HER? YOU HAVE BOOBS!"

"IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT!"

Barney cleared his throat, drawing the squabbling couple's attention from the babies to him and Robin.

"Thank god you're here!" Lily cried, running forward and dumping Everly into her father's arms. He shifted her into one arm, and kept the other firmly around Robin's waist. "I don't know how you guys do this every day."

"You two are amazing parents, if you manage to take care of these two. And it's your first time too. We have three kids and we couldn't even do it for a night." Marshall added.

Robin shrugged. "We just do what we gotta do to keep our kids happy."

"Here." Marshall said, as he came out of the kitchen to put Aurelia into her mother's arms. She stopped crying almost immediately.

"She just wanted her mommy. And Eves isn't big on cuddles, so she probably just wanted to be on her own." Barney gently placed the baby onto her stomach on the couch to demonstrate, and her cries died down quickly.

Lily's ears sung with happiness when the sobs finally came to an end. "You two are doing a great job."

Robin grinned and high fived Barney. "Duh."

"We're the best at everything." Barney added.

Lily and Marshall sighed and rolled their eyes, but laughed. The two couples quickly said goodnight to each other, then Marshall and Lily left.

"Okay, who wants to be a good girl and go to sleep?" Barney asked, as soon as the door shut.

"Me!" Robin cried enthusiastically. Barney laughed as he scooped Evie up and headed into the nursery, Robin and Aurelia right behind him. They swaddled the twins and put them in their cribs. Luckily, the unsure murmurs coming from the babies stopped once the door was closed. Barney and Robin sighed in relief, and went to get changed and crawl into bed.

…

It was a couple of hours later, at 11:04pm, when Robin was startled awake by crying. It wasn't the usual crying. It was urgent and sharp. She looked to her side to see Barney also sitting up in curiosity. She put a hand out to push him back down into the bed. He'd been so great with letting her sleep while he took care of cries that weren't feeding, she needed to repay him.

"I've got her." Robin mumbled, kicking the covers off. "She's probably hungry, and unless you can magically start producing a milk-like substance, I think I gotta take this one."

"Thanks, baby." Barney whispered, snuggling back under the covers. It made Robin smile. She padded out of her room and opened the door to the nursery. Surprisingly, Everly hadn't woken Aurelia. She picked her crying baby up.

"What's wrong, Eves?" She cooed, rocking the newborn from side to side.

Robin tried everything. Literally everything, but she couldn't get her daughter to stop crying. So much for the boasting attitude she had had towards Lily and Marshall. She stood in the nursery, shushing and rocking Everly, but she wouldn't ease her sobs.

"Come on, I'm tired. Please go to sleep." Robin begged. She'd been trying to calm her for over an hour.

"Babe, you okay?" Barney asked from the doorway, clearly disorientated and rubbing his eyes tiredly.

Robin sighed. "She won't go to sleep. Marshall and Lily caused problems, obviously. She didn't do this yesterday."

Barney laughed. "Here. Let me try. You can go back to bed."

"Thanks, baby." Robin said, kissing him and stalking back to the bedroom.

…

Robin woke at seven am, to the light streaming through the blinds, rather than a screaming baby. It surprised her. This was the latest she's slept in in ages. Even before the girls were born, she'd be woken up early by sharp kicks against her organs or restless babies that refused to settle down inside her womb. She turned to her side and realized Barney was up. He was such an amazing daddy and husband.

She climbed out of bed and put a robe on, then opened the door and paced down the hall into the nursery. Barney was sleeping on the rocking chair, Everly in his arms. He was snoring, so oblivious to the restless gurgles the baby in his arms was making. Robin quickly and gently pulled her daughter from his grasp so she didn't wake him. He continued snoring. She walked over to the other crib, where Aurelia was awake but quiet.

"Morning princess." Robin crooned as she picked Lia up, and took the babies out of the nursery, closing the door gently behind her. She hoped Barney could get a little more sleep. He must've been up for the better half of the night.

…

When Barney tiredly stumbled into the kitchen, he found his wife humming as she cooked - okay _attempted_ to cook – pancakes. The girls were lying on their backs on the baby mats. He walked over to Robin and put his arms around her hips, which was something he'd seen people do in movies.

"Morning, babe." He whispered.

"Morning." Robin replied brightly. She'd slept well last night, receiving a whole six hours. "Now please remove your hands from my waist. This is way too cliché and Ted-like for us."

Barney laughed and obeyed. As she finished the pancakes, which to her credit were only a little burnt, he got out plates, cutlery and toppings. This included two tubs of maple syrup, because Barney refuses to eat the one Robin buys that's imported from Canada. He'll only eat it if it was made in America.

"Thanks for taking care of the girls last night. I got heaps of sleep." Robin said, as she turned the stove off and brought the plate of pancakes over.

"It's okay. I know you were tired. Thanks for letting me sleep in this morning and making breakfast."

Robin looked at him curiously. "How did you get Eve to sleep last night?"

"A magician never reveals his tricks." Barney replied with a wink.

Robin groaned, but also grinned. She married an idiot, but an idiot she loves to the moon and back.

…

 **A/N**

 **That was the hardest chapter! I couldn't decide what I wanted, then it took me ages to figure out if the last part is a little OOC, which I think it is. Sorry. Please review :)**


	13. Mom vs Wife

**A/N**

 **I really have to apologize for the lack of updating. I am so sorry. I will get back to doing it quickly and regularly next week, things have just been very crazy and busy for me this past month. And on top of that, I've had serious writers block for this and** ** _Lyrics of Our Lives_** **, and I'm in the process of writing another fic. You guys are so patient and great, though, and I promise more steady and quick updates from now on :)**

 **PS: Also, just a disclaimer, I know breastfeeding in public is a controversial issue, I apologize if this conflicts with your opinion on that topic.**

 **PPS: I feel like mother-in-law issues are just a universal thing, and thought it fit these two so well, considering how perfect Loretta thinks Barney is, and how she doesn't think anyone is good enough for him.**

…

Barney rolled onto his side one morning. It was Friday, and he had to go back to work on Monday. The twins would be a month old on Sunday, and he was really enjoying them getting older. It seemed every night they slept for longer, giving him and Robin longer time to sleep in between the screaming. They still wouldn't sleep through the night yet, but he couldn't wait for that. He picked up his phone and checked the time. Four thirty am. Why wasn't he asleep?

"Robin?" He whispered. She didn't reply, so he poked her. "Robin, wake up." He kept poking her, determined to wake her. "Ro-bin." He whined, drawing out the syllables in her name.

"What?" She groaned tiredly.

"What do you wanna do today?"

She glared at him. "You woke me up for that?"

"It's important!"

"I don't know and I don't care. Don't wake me up unless someone's on fire." She rolled onto her side again.

"Let's go to the mall." Barney said absentmindedly. Robin slammed a pillow into his face. He laughed, realizing what he had said. "Seriously though. We have barely any diapers left, and there's literally no food. We need groceries."

"I don't go to malls." Robin reminded her husband. "Besides, we have two babies. A crowded mall is going to be an absolute nightmare."

"But I have to go back to work on Monday. Getting out of the house would be nicer than spending another day locked in the house, folding laundry. My mom would be happy to come, she could help!"

"Great, that sounds amazing. A day dragging myself around the mall with my month olds and mother-in-law." Robin mumbled sarcastically.

Barney flashed his phone screen in her face, making her squint and turn her head away. "Already asked my mom. She already said yes with a bunch of exclamation marks."

Robin groaned and smashed another pillow into his head.

…

They had barely pulled into the mall parking lot, and Loretta was already getting on Robin's nerves. She thought she knew more about her grandchildren than Robin knew about her own babies. It pissed her off. She and Barney had kept the twins okay and alive for almost a month. They could do this on their own.

"Robin, how the heck does this work?" Barney called. Robin pulled Everly out of the carseat and sauntered over to where her husband was trying, rather unsuccessfully, to open the stroller. Moving the baby onto her shoulder with one hand, Robin clicked a button and the stroller flew open. Barney scowled at her. "Show off." He muttered. She grinned and returned to the car to get Aurelia.

Loretta was leaning against the car, watching her son and daughter-in-law. She crinkled her nose as Robin brought the babies over, one in each arm. "Robin, dear, I really wish you wouldn't do that." She said it sweetly, but her tone was drenched with judgement.

"Do what, Loretta." Robin asked, irritated. The whole car ride here, Loretta had lectured her, just her, not Barney, about how to take care of her own children. It annoyed her that her mother-in-law thought she knew more about the twins than Robin did.

"Hold Aurie and Evers like that." Those nicknames pissed Robin off, too. They weren't even real names, just nonsense sounds. "I don't want you to drop them."

Robin gave Barney a pointed stare and took a deep breath, knowing if she did anything else, she'd probably end up lunging at Loretta. "Mom, Robin knows what she's doing."

…

At the sound of cries, Robin spun around from the rack of clothes she'd been looking through and glared at her mother-in-law. "Loretta! I just got her to sleep!" Everly had literally fallen asleep a few minutes ago. Loretta had lifted the blanket that was covering the stroller, keeping the light out of the baby's face. It had woken her up.

"Sorry." Loretta muttered, very sarcastically. "I just wanted to check on her."

"She didn't need to be checked on." Robin growled, pulling the baby from the stroller.

Barney had taken Lia, who was strapped to his chest with the Baby Björn, on a walk through the store, attempting to calm her crying. He noticed his wife about to kill his mother, and quickly excused himself from the young saleswoman, who had been gushing over Everly, and raced back.

"Mom, Robin. What's going on?" He asked.

"I was just checking on my granddaughter, when Robin got all angry."

"You woke Everly up after I _just_ got her to sleep. You think you know more about the girls than I do! I'm their mother!"

Barney sighed. "Guys, come on. Stop it. This is a petty argument."

"You know how hard it is to get them to sleep!" Robin argued, angry that he wasn't taking her side.

Barney nodded. "But mom was only trying to help."

"Forget it." Robin grumbled. She took Everly and stalked off to another corner.

Barney knew he upset her. She hates it when he takes his mom's side over her's in an argument. She may not say it out loud, but she needs him to defend her, especially against Loretta. She thought she should be his number one priority, which she was. She and the twins meant the world to him, and he loved them more than anything. But, Loretta was still his mom. It was hard to disagree with what she said. He hated being stuck between the two.

…

New York is a pretty rude place at the best of times. Nobody cares about you, or your situation. Courtesy is thrown to the wind, and everyone only cares about themselves. This food court was no exception. It was just past midday, and prime lunch time. Even though it was a Friday, the food court was still packed and crazy. Robin was getting stressed. The twins were both hungry and screaming. They needed to find somewhere to sit first before Robin could even feed them. A table opened up as a family of tourists left. Barney ran towards it but was cut off by a group of teenagers, who were wagging school.

"Does anybody have any respect nowadays? Seriously." Barney muttered as he rejoined his mother, wife and daughters.

Robin shrugged and started bouncing Aurelia, who was screaming, again. "Shh, I'll feed you soon, sweetheart."

Finally, a table opened up, and Barney quickly claimed it.

"Okay," Robin started, as Loretta left to buy lunch and Barney sat down, "I'll take Eves to the restroom and feed her first, if you can wait here with Lia. Then we'll swap, yeah?"

Barney shook his head. "Are you seriously planning on taking month olds into that bathroom? It's filthy and unhygienic, and the girls don't have fully developed immune systems. "

Robin turned to Barney. "Where do you suppose I feed them then?"

He shrugged. "Just do it here. Nobody's watching, and even if they are, it's a natural thing. And it's 2018, baby. Nobody cares anymore."

She shrugged. "Okay."

Robin was about halfway through nursing Everly, when the teenage boys at the table beside them caught wind of what she was doing. They started wolf-whistling and making very rude and inappropriate comments. Robin ignored them, but it was really pissing Barney off. They had no right to be doing that.

He spun around and death stared the boys. "If the five of you don't shut up, I swear to god, I will beat the crap out of you." Robin snickered at her husband's threat. There's no way in hell he'd ever be capable of that, but it sounded at least a little threatening. She'd have a better chance of winning a fight, the five of them against her, even if she had a baby strapped to her chest. Barney turned back towards Robin, still looking angry. "What is wrong with kids these days?"

"They probably just got excited because it's the first boob they've ever seen."

Barney burst out laughing. "You are just," He paused, looking for the right word, "awesome."

"I know."

…

It had been a long day. Robin was at her wits end with her Loretta. She really just wanted to get home and the hell away from her monster-in-law, as she decided to start calling her. Loretta and Robin were now finishing the groceries in Target, while Barney had taken the girls outside. Everyone was tired and irritated. Everly and Aurelia were grumpy and didn't like the constant noise.

"Are you sure you're cut out to be a mother?" Loretta questioned suddenly, as Robin was bagging oranges.

"Excuse me?" She asked, dropping the bag out of shock and spinning around to face her. That was easily the worst thing Loretta has ever said to her.

"I mean, you never wanted children."

Robin squeezed her eyes shut. She wished Barney was here to get Loretta off her back. "I didn't when Barn and I got married, but I warmed up to the idea, obviously."

"I just feel my granddaughters would be safer off with someone, maybe a little more capable than you are." Robin knew Loretta was just trying to get a reaction. Just trying to irritate her. But it didn't change the fact that that comment _hurt_. It hit her right where it hurt. Mainly because she thought it was true. Maybe Loretta was right. Maybe she _wasn't_ cut out to be a mom.

"I'm sorry you feel that way."

"And, I mean, you told Barney you were infertile so he'd feel bad for you and not bring up the subject of kids, then you magically got pregnant? You expect me to believe that? I can't believe Barney did."

Robin was in shock. That wasn't true. She hadn't lied to Barney about her infertility. It was a misdiagnosis. She hadn't known she could possibly get pregnant. Robin closed her eyes and leant against the shopping cart. Loretta had taken it way too far. She was sick and tired of being treated like this. Both her mom and mother-in-law did it. The condescending attitude.

"Baby, you okay?" Barney's concerned voice broke her out of her thoughts. She opened her eyes and looked at him, then simply shook her head. She couldn't show weakness in public like this. In front of Loretta. Weakness was something saved specifically for home. Something Barney and Robin only showed each other in the privacy of their own four walls. Barney turned towards his mom. "What did you do?"

"All I did was point out that maybe she isn't fit to be a mom. And that she made up her infertility so she didn't have to have the baby discussion with you."

"Mom!" Barney yelled. Just like that, all the uncertainty he had, flip flopping between Robin and Loretta's sides of arguments was gone. Robin should be his number one. She was. Happy wife happy life, right? But no, it was more than that. He needed to stick up for her during arguments. He couldn't believe Loretta had said that to her.

"I'm going to take the girls outside again." Robin said, pulling the stroller out of Barney's grasp and taking the girls out of the store.

Barney turned to Loretta. "Mom, you can't say crap like that. If you don't stop, then we're not going to come around anymore. By pushing Robin away, by antagonising her, you're making her want to spend less and less time with you. And I'm sorry if you don't like it, but Robin and I are family. We have kids together, mom. We come as a bundle. Me, Robin and the girls. If you don't like that, then bad luck. I'm going to need to start sticking up for her. I don't appreciate you trying to come between our marriage and trying to make me pick sides. Okay?"

"Whatever you want Wov-Wov."

Barney nodded. Good enough. "I'll be back in a second." He left the store and went outside to find his girls. His _three_ girls. He put his arm around Robin. "I'm sorry." Barney whispered into her ear.

That was enough to make Robin's pain, agitation and anger go away. Barney was on her side. Finally. He put her above his mother. She knew how much he loved his mom, so knowing he loved her more made her feel incredible.

For the first time, she felt like the most important woman in his life.

…

 **A/N**

 **I wrote most of this at three am, but I was on a roll and couldn't stop. Hope you enjoy, and don't think it was** ** _too_** **OOC. I truly believe Barney would react like that. At least, the fatherly, husbandly version of him. Please review!**


	14. Red, White and Blue

**A/N**

 **Once again, super sorry for the lack of updating, weekdays are stressful and no matter how much I just wanna sit down and write, I don't have a lot of time and I'm tired and indecisive about what I want to write. I'll try and get a schedule back on track ASAP. I got super carried away with the girls' outfits, but whatever, I'm keeping it in. Also, I don't normally do flashbacks in this story, but wanted to try it. Thanks for being great, guys! Please keep reading and reviewing :)**

 **PS: Sorry to the Canadians who read this, I love you all and Canada, but I'm just keeping with the tone of the show :)**

 **PPS: Please forgive me, my French isn't amazing and I've forgotten three quarters of the language, lol. I trusted Google Translator, which is dumb, I know. Correct me if I'm wrong, okay?**

…

Robin sipped her drink and slammed the car door. Everly was balanced against her chest with arm, and the Starbucks cup was precariously balancing in her hand. In the same hand that the paper cup was in, she was juggling her purse and a few bags of supplies for the twins.

"You know how embarrassing you are when you dress like that, right?" Barney questioned, as he came around the other side of the car, Aurelia in his arms.

"Yep."

"Do you care?"

"Not even a little bit."

Barney laughed and rolled his eyes. He shifted the baby in his arms and locked the car, before taking the lead up the driveway to the Mosby's house. Robin noted how decorated their house was. Ted and Tracy really love any excuse to decorate. Red, white and blue balloons lined the driveway, and streamers were hanging from the veranda. Robin smiled as her husband's outfit came into view. He wasn't in a suit, which was incredibly strange, and had gone full-on American. Blue shorts, American flag tank top and flip flops. He looked like such a cliché July 4th dad. She loved it.

"You guys can stop being boring, the cool people are here now!" Barney announced as he closed the front door behind Robin.

"Hey! Happy 4th of July!" Tracy called from the kitchen. Barney and Robin made their way through the house and found the gang in the kitchen. They were all helping finish the food, and occasionally glancing out to see what the kids were doing.

Ted put the bowl of salad down to hug his friends. "Jesus, you look good." He said to Robin. "I mean, you have twin two-month-olds, and you don't look even a little tired. Only you would make being a mom look cool."

Robin smiled. "I can't help it, I'm just cool. And gorgeous."

"And modest." Lily added with a laugh.

"Secondly, what the hell are you two wearing?" Ted asked.

Robin smiled and looked down at her outfit. She was wearing a white skirt with red maple leaves and a red top with the words _Proud to be Canadian_ printed in white. She shrugged at Ted innocently. "We never celebrate Canada Day. It was only three days ago. So, I decided to combine it with the 4th of July."

The other five booed. "We don't celebrate Canada Day because we don't like Canada." Barney reminded her.

Robin rolled her eyes. "Watch it, Stinson. Your daughters are five-eighths Canadian."

"What? No way they have that much Canadian blood!" Barney exclaimed, starting to do the maths on his fingers.

Marshall laughed. "She's right, Barney. Half from her and a quarter from you equals five-eighths." Barney made an incoherent noise of displeasure and crossed his arms, playfully acting pissed off.

"What the heck are _you_ wearing, Barney? Why aren't you in a suit?" Lily asked.

"Robin came out of the bathroom in _that_ , so I had to balance her out."

Ted looked confused. "And you just had that in the back of your closet?"

"Well, you see young Theodore, back before my days of monogamy started, when I did plays, I had one that worked quite well. I would borrow Marvin, and dress up in that, then pretend I was a tourist with my son, looking for a place to sleep for the night. And it was on."

"That worked?" Tracy asked. The others laughed. She'd obviously never heard of some of the more outrageous plays Barney's performed.

"Yes. Yes, it did." Barney replied with a grin.

Lily rolled her eyes and stepped forward, taking Aurelia from his arms. "I feel like you shouldn't be holding a child after saying that." She looked at the baby. "Oh my god, Robin. The girls look adorable." She tickled Lia's foot. "Hi cutie. Oh, you're so pretty."

The girls did look great. Robin had tried hard for their first July 4th. Since she refused to dress them alike, they were wearing different things. Aurelia had a white onesie with the words _Red, White & Cute _printed in a red and blue cursive font, a red tutu and a blue and white headband. Everly had a romper, the top and bottom separated by a string of elastic. The top half had spaghetti straps, and red and white stripes, and the bottom was blue with white stars. She had a matching blue and white star headband with a red and white stripped bow.

"Robin, why the hell are you celebrating Canada Day now? We already celebrated, on Canada Day." Barney asked. The others looked confused. "Oh guys, you should've seen what she did to the apartment."

 ** _July 1_** ** _st,_** ** _2018_**

Barney opened the door to the apartment and gaped. Robin had turned their living room into a Canada Day parade. Red and white streamers and balloons were everywhere. There were even multiple flags hung up around the room. Aurelia was asleep in her bouncer next to the couch. Robin had even dressed her to go with the décor in the room. A large red tutu was spilling over the edges of the rocker, and her shirt had a maple leaf. Robin was standing in the middle of the kitchen, on the phone to who he assumed was her mom, based on her facial expression. She was wearing an oversized shirt with a maple leaf. Everly was in her arms, wearing a pair of red ruffled shorts and a top with the words _Made in Canada_. It confused Barney.

Robin smiled briefly at him before rolling her eyes at the phone. "I know, mom." Yep, she was talking to Genevieve. "I know it's your 60th, but we have twin two month olds. That's going to be a nightmare to travel with…No! Mom!...You're not listening… _Barney_ and I don't have a problem with it, but we are not flying to _Canada_ with babies. That's a five hour trip…Okay, I don't have time for this. I'll call you back later." She pulled the phone away from her ear and clicked hang up, then hurled the phone across the room.

"Woah." Barney said, watching it slam into a vase.

"Hey." Robin said, walking forward to kiss him. "How was work?"

"Boring. I'd rather be home with my three favourite girls. What did your mom want?" He reached across and pulled Everly from her arms, kissing his daughter on the head as he pulled her closer to him.

Robin rolled her eyes. "She wants us to go to Canada for her 60th birthday. She doesn't understand that a five hour flight is a long way when you have fussy babies."

"A very long way." Barney shuddered at the thought. "Anyway, what happened in here?" He gestured around the room.

"Ah, well, it's July 1st, also known as Canada Day. Since we're Canadian, we gotta celebrate."

Barney gasped. "Take that back, Madam. I am not _Canadian_." Robin rolled her eyes. "Also, why does Evie's shirt say made in Canada? Hello, they were conceived in America. On the counter, probably. Or maybe in the shower…"

Robin laughed. "Well, actually, if you look at the dates, the girls were conceived the week we were in Canada for that Canucks game."

Barney's jaw dropped. "No. I refuse to believe that my children were conceived in _Canada_."

Robin laughed. She personally found it hilarious.

 ** _Present – July 4_** ** _th_** ** _, 2018_**

The gang were laughing and teasing Barney as he and Robin finished telling their story.

He crossed his arms across his chest. "Not only are my daughters _more_ than a half Canadian, but they were also _conceived_ in Canada! This is a disaster."

Robin grinned. "And I'm not even a little bit sorry."

…

By the time it got dark, the kids and gang were gathered on the lawn, awaiting the firework display. Robin sat on the grass, leaning against an outdoor wicker lounge and running her hand through her husband's hair. Barney was asleep already with his head in her lap, and Aurelia on his chest. Lily was sitting beside her and holding Everly. Tracy and Ted were on one of the lounges, her head on his shoulder and Luke asleep in her arms. Marshall was sitting on another one of the wicker chairs, Florence asleep across his lap. On the last lounge, the three older kids, Marvin, Daisy and Penny (who were six, four and three) were awake and excited to watch the firework display.

The first firework filled the sky, and surprisingly didn't wake any of the sleeping kids, or Barney. Robin looked beside her, to her daughter and best friend. Everly was looking at the sky, eyes full of interest. Although she knew the two-month-old didn't know what fireworks were, it made her happy that the baby at least knew that this was different. Abnormal. Special.

"Lily." Robin whispered, nudging her best friend's arm and nodding to the baby. Lily looked down and laughed when she saw the curious stare in her niece's insanely blue eyes.

"What can you see, Eves?" Lily asked. "Those are fireworks. Can you say-"

Robin laughed. "She's two-months-old, Lil. She can't speak. Besides, her first word _better_ be mommy. Or mama. I'll settle for mama."

Lily laughed. She loved this. She loved how absorbed Robin was in motherhood. And how much Barney loved fatherhood. She always thought they'd make fantastic parents. When she saw the way the pair looked at those two girls, she saw was love. Love, amazement and pride. They were proud. They _made_ those gorgeous little humans. Lily recognized the look. It was the same way she looked at her kids. When Marvin's Kindergarten team won a basketball match, when Daisy got a sticker at preschool for being good, when Florence drew a picture that actually resembled something, rather than just red blobs. she heard them all utter the word 'mommy' for the first time. Whenever one of them said something intelligible, rather than just chatter.

Robin yawned and stretched out her legs, accidently jostling her husband's head and waking him. He groaned in displeasure and looked up at her expectantly. "Morning, Sleeping Beauty."

"You're right, I am beautiful. And 175% awesome."

Robin grinned. "An idiot, is what you are."

Barney raised an eyebrow. "I believe you pronounced awesome wrong. Didn't you learn English in Canada?"

Robin rolled her eyes. "Canada speaks English."

"And French. Like, why?"

Robin turned to Ted, the only other person in the gang who speaks fluent French. "Mon dieu, il est stupide. Pourquoi nous associons-nous toujours avec lui?"

"Je ne sais pas, Robin."

"Stop it!" Barney yelled. "I don't know what you're saying!"

"That's kinda the point."

Barney crosses his arms, faking being angry. An abnormally loud firework exploded and made him jump, making the others laugh. "I hate you all." He growled, while trying to contain his own smile.

…

 **A/N**

 **What'd you think? I'll try to be more active this week, but it's getting hard, especially since I have drafts for maybe seven stories…oops. Hope you liked this chapter, and chapter 15 should be out by Sunday, my time. Thanks for reading this chapter and please review! :)**

 **Also, if you don't speak French, or can't remember any (like me, lol) then the translations are as follows:**

 **"** **God, he's stupid. Why do we still associate ourselves with him?"** **"** **I don't know, Robin."**


	15. Victoria

**A/N**

 **I am so, so sorry. This is (obviously) a little later than three Sundays ago, sorry again. October – December is always crazy. I really need to make an updating schedule. I don't have as much time to write as I'd like to. I don't really know why this took so long to write. I just kept getting stuck and distracted. Also, I've started a new story, where I publish one chapter a day until Christmas day, that's called** ** _Underneath the Mistletoe_** **. On top of that, I literally just published another new himym story! It's called** ** _Till Death Do Us Part_** **, and I know how depressing it sounds, but I promise it's not like that. No tragedies, just angst. Please check them out! Also, I'm sorry for rambling, love you guys :)**

…

Barney stood at the end of one of the aisles in the auditorium, bouncing Aurelia. She had run a small fever last night, and still wasn't feeling well. It had only been two degrees higher than usual, which wasn't that dangerous for three-month-olds, but it still made the poor baby feel unwell. He looked over to where the rest of the gang were sitting. Marshall, Lily, Ted and Tracy were all watching the toddlers prance around the stage, but Robin was almost asleep on top of Lily. She had been the one up for the better part of the night with Aurelia. She was exhausted, and he didn't blame her.

He turned his eyes back to the stage in time to see the group of three-year-olds run off and another group run on. Penny's pre-K were putting on a dance recital for parents. A matinee performance on a Wednesday morning. Naturally, Ted had forced the whole gang to come. Barney had tried his hardest to get out of it but didn't have any luck. Everyone, besides Robin, had had to take the day off work to attend.

The lights came on and the group of kids on stage started to dance. Ted shot from his seat, the camcorder in his hand as he recognized his daughter. He startled Robin awake. "WOO! GO PENNY! GO BABY GIRL!"

"Ted sit down!" Tracy yelled, as she yanked her fiancé's hand and pulled him back down into his seat.

Barney laughed. That was such a Ted thing to do. He pitied Penny and Luke. They had to grow up with a father as embarrassing as Ted Mosby. And Barney couldn't believe he had a _camcorder_. It was 2018, couldn't he just use an iPhone like everyone else?

…

"Okay, is anyone hungry?" Ted asked. They had finally finished watching the recital and all the kids had been returned to their classrooms. The six adults were standing out the front of the school. Everly was sleeping peacefully in the Baby Björn on Robin's chest, and Aurelia was asleep in the stroller. Lily was rocking the stroller back and forth to keep her niece sleeping, while Barney had both his arms wrapped around Robin.

"Starved. Where do you wanna go?" Marshall asked.

The others laughed. That was a dumb question. They hadn't been in a while, but MacLaren's had been home for them for so many years. Some of the most important moments in their lives had happened there or right around it. Plus, they made great food. MacLaren's was the only logical place to eat.

…

"Robin, stairs." Barney warned as the gang neared the entrance to their beloved bar. If he had let go of her, she would've passed out on the concrete, that's how exhausted she was.

"Mmm." She replied, without making an attempt to steady herself.

Barney smiled. "Baby, I know you're tired, but I can't hold you and help Marshall with the stroller at the same time." Robin nodded, but still didn't budge.

"Here, I got this." Ted said, stepping down to take the bottom half of the stroller. With Marshall's aid, they managed to get it down without waking Aurelia. A miracle, really.

"Now I remember why we never brought strollers in here when Marvin was born." Lily commented. It was a tight fit, and weaving it around booths and tables would be even more challenging. It would be a more responsible choice to leave it upstairs, but then Aurelia wouldn't sleep.

Barney opened the door to the bar and let the other four pile in with the stroller before pulling it closed behind them.

"Hey! Look who it is!" Carl yelled enthusiastically. He abandoned the drink he was making to come out from behind the bar to greet who used to be the bar's five, then six, most loyal regulars. "Hey guys! How're you doing?"

Robin groaned. "Shh, you're being too loud. I'm trying to sleep."

Carl snickered and turned to Barney. "She was much nicer before you knocked her up."

"I'm literally right here!"

Barney smiled and kissed the top of her head.

…

Robin was sitting in the booth, Barney on her right side. Her head was on her husband's shoulder. Everly started to stir, but Barney quickly reached down to stroke her head and she fell asleep again. Across the bar, a waitress dropped a plate, splashing ceramic and food everywhere. It woke Aurelia up, and she started wailing.

Robin groaned and let out a sob. "Relia, baby girl." She moved to get the baby from the stroller, but Barney stopped her.

"I got this." He gently pushed Robin's head off and stood up, taking his daughter from the stroller, pacing a few paces away from the others to calm her.

"Aww, look at him. Calming his daughter in the same spot he once celebrated Not a Father's Day." Lily commented.

Ted laughed. "Who would've thought?"

…

A little later, when the gang were eating lunch, the twins started getting restless because they were hungry. Barney pulled Everly out of the stroller, and passed her to Robin, who started nursing her. Marshall quickly got up to go get the next round of drinks. Ted, oblivious to his niece's cries of hunger, unsuspectingly looked up from his food, and quickly shielded his eyes.

"Sorry! Sorry!" He cried, looking away as fast as he could.

Barney and Tracy snickered, as they found this situation hilarious. Robin rolled her eyes. "You act like you've never seen them before."

"It's been twelve years!" Ted protested. "Next time give me warning."

Robin looked confused. "Why? What's wrong with it, dude?"

"I just don't want Barney thinking I have lingering feelings for his wife or Tracy thinking I have feelings for her best friend!"

"Hey guys, look at that. He has no lingering feelings for Robin anymore! It only took two kids and four years!" Tracy teased. She's the only girl Ted has ever been with, besides Robin obviously, that has been completely cool with the fact that the two dated. Maybe it was because she'd only known Robin to be in a committed relationship.

"Oh haha." Ted sighed, sitting back in his seat.

Once both twins were fed and happy, Marshall retreated back to the booth, baring drinks. As he was sitting down, a woman approached the table.

"Woah, not a lot has changed in six years, hey?" She said. The gang looked up, everyone except Tracy recognizing the woman.

"Victoria, hey!" Lily cried, standing up to hug Ted's ex.

"Hey…" Ted trailed off, wrapping his arm tighter around Tracy.

She smiled at her former friends and boyfriend, and took a double take when she saw Barney, Aurelia mostly asleep in his arms. "Am I going insane or does Barney have a baby?"

"You're not going insane, but it's a fair assumption. This is my daughter."

"Lemme guess, you got some skank pregnant?"

"I guess you could call me a skank." Robin mumbled, resting her head on Barney's shoulder again.

"Oh! Sorry!"

Robin yawned. "It's okay. I've been called worse."

"Have a seat, Victoria." Lily offered, oblivious to Ted's pleading eyes, telling her to not invite his ex-girlfriend to sit down with them.

She pulled up another chair beside Ted. "So, what else is going on? Barney and Robin have a daughter-"

"Twins, actually." Marshall supplied.

"-Barney and Robin have twin daughters. What about everyone else? How old is Marvin now?" Victoria continued.

Lily smiled. "He's six."

"Wow, that's _crazy._ Has he got any other siblings yet?"

Marshall nodded. "Two sisters. Daisy and Florence." He held out his phone, and Victoria took it, studying the picture of the kids. It was taken on Daisy's 4th birthday party, earlier that year. Robin had been six months pregnant, and the kids had been sitting on the couch with her. Marvin had been five, and he was sitting beside her, fourteen-month-old Florence in his lap. Daisy was on one of Robin's knees, and nine-month-old Luke was on the other knee. Penny was sitting on the other side of her, too busy eating to smile at the camera.

"Who are the other kids?" Victoria asked, zooming into the Mosby kid's faces.

Ted looked uncomfortable. "That's my daughter, Penny, and my son Luke." He cleared his throat. "And, this is their mother and my fiancée, Tracy."

Victoria didn't look even a little bit taken aback. "So, you finally found the one?"

"He did. At Robin and my wedding. She was the bass player in the band." Barney explained, slightly shifting Aurelia. "What about you?"

"Well, I met my husband, Lukas while working in a German pastry shop. We got married in 2015, in Germany, but moved to New York just before my son was born. Now, have two kids. Niklas is two and Emilia Michelle is ten months." Victoria replied. She checked the time on her phone, then smiled and stood up. "Anyway, it was nice talking, but I have to go meet my sister soon. See you guys around, maybe?"

The others nodded, as Victoria grabbed her bag and smiled, then walked away.

"Well that was awkward." Barney laughed.

Robin sat up straight. "No kidding. I pretended to be asleep for that whole conversation.

"You thought it was awkward! That's my ex-girlfriend, who I broke up with because I tried to cheat on her with you. Then, years later, I let her leave someone at the alter for me, and then she broke off our engagement months later because of once again, you."

"You're a mess, dude." Tracy laughed.

Ted rolled his eyes and sunk down in his seat while the others laughed. As Robin looked around at the others, teasing Ted and laughing at him, she felt a wave of nostalgia. But, as much as she missed being young and wild, she loved her life now even more and wouldn't trade anything she's been through with Barney or her daughters for the world.

…

 **A/N**

 **I always liked Victoria, and wanted her to be happy. That's why she was reintroduced in this chapter. Hope you liked this chapter, even though it's kinda a filler chapter. I have big plans for the coming chapters :)**


	16. Twenty Five Years

**A/N**

 **Okay, so next chapter is combining months 5, 6 and 7 together. This is for three reasons. One, it's going to be about the twins' milestones and breaking it up is super repetitive. Two, I want to get past the baby stage ASAP, because I'm excited for the next major story points. And three, because I want my Christmas chapter out in time for Christmas. Hope you understand, thanks! :)**

…

Barney rushed around the apartment, showing Carly everything she needed to know. The twins would be five months old in four days, which was insane. They were starting to get older, and it was crazy. They both giggled and laughed at random times and babbled to each other. It sometimes took him and Robin by surprise, because they weren't used to the twins making proper sounds yet. They could also both sit up on their own. To Barney and Robin, though, it still felt like they would open the nursery door and see newborns. They were growing up so fast.

Robin was going back to work next week. Barney's half-sister, Carly, had agreed to be their nanny. She was between jobs, not really having a set plan for her future. But, spending the days with her nieces, and getting paid a considerable amount of money for it sounded great. Plus, she was someone both Barney and Robin could trust with the girls. So tonight, was their first - and only – trial run. It was Barney's 25 year high school reunion, and he wasn't allowed to bring the twins.

"That's pretty much it. Do you think you guys will be okay?"

"Absolutely." Carly replied, holding Aurelia in the air. "You tell daddy you'll be fine with Aunt Carly, okay?"

Barney smiled at his daughter. "Hi, Princess." He looked at Carly. "I know you're capable of taking care of them. Now where the hell is Robin? BABY, COME ON, WE GOTTA GO!"

He got no answer, so he wandered into the bedroom, looking for his wife. She was in the bathroom. "Babe, come on. We have to leave or we're going to be late." He knocked on the door. "What are you doing?"

Robin looked at the door from across the bathroom. She was standing at the mirror, her hair and makeup done, but she was only wearing a bra and underwear. There were dresses strewn across the floor. She had bought one to wear tonight, but after trying it on again, she was scared it made her look fat. She hadn't lost all the baby weight yet.

Motherhood had taken her by surprise. She loved it so much more than she thought she ever could've, and she loved those girls and Barney more than anyone in the entire universe. She loved the girls so much, and naturally she'd have evidence from her pregnancy with them. But her looks were important to her, especially since she was a journalist on national TV. She was scared she didn't have enough time to lose the weight.

Barney knocked on the door again, and this time Robin opened it. "Finally, baby come on. We have to go."

"I can't."

Barney's heart leapt into his throat. "Why not?

"I look so fat in all these dresses. It's the baby weight. I should've done more to lose it."

Barney shook his head, looking almost insulted that she could even suggest that she has any unwanted weight. "Baby, trust me, you look great." He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"To you, yeah. But, I have to go back on national TV, where there are tons of judgemental people who don't understand. Do you know how self-conscious that makes me? Plus, it's your 25 year reunion. You want to show off to your old classmates that your wife is hot, and I am _not_ hot right now."

"Robin Stinson, you are the most beautiful woman in the world. Don't ever say you're not hot again, because we both know it's not true. Please just trust me when I say you are totally exaggerating about the weight. This is coming from me, and I used to be the biggest judge of women's weight in the entire world. You look amazing, babe, please trust me."

Robin chewed on her bottom lip, a habit she tended to do when she was nervous, and looked into the mirror, examining herself. She breathed deeply. "Okay. I trust you."

Barney smiled. "Thank you." He kissed her head. "Now lemme help you pick a dress. We really have to leave."

…

"Carly, are you sure you'll be okay?" Robin asked.

Carly rolled her eyes at her sister-in-law. They had already been through this four times. Robin and Barney were just about to leave when she asked again. "Yes! Relax Robin! Have a good night!"

"They're fine, babe. Come on!"

"Okay, okay! I'm leaving, I'm leaving. Bye, Carly. Bye girlies."

…

As soon as they walked into the hall, Robin needed to the use the bathroom, leaving Barney alone. He was at the refreshments table, looking around. All his classmates changed so much. It was weird seeing everyone here with their husbands and wives.

"Woah, Stinson. I barely recognised you without your mascara and magic." A man approached the table. Barney looked at him. Harrison Padmore. He was a jerk to everyone, especially Barney, throughout all middle school and high school. One of Matthew Panning's posse.

"Oh, haha, Harrison." Barney sarcastically replied.

"So, what's going on? You busy dying alone?"

Barney scoffed. "No, actually. I'll have you know I'm married."

Harrison grinned. "Where is she then?"

"In the bathroom."

"Come on, the old 'she's in the bathroom' trick? That won't work."

Barney scowled and held up his left hand. "I'm married, dude."

Harrison grinned. "So, what girl was desperate enough to marry you? Is she a trophy wife, Barney?"

Barney had honestly had enough. He had been taunted by this boy when he was a teenager, and he wasn't going to let him continue with his childish teasing now. "She's actually a successful journalist. News anchor at World Wide News."

"Uh huh. You expect me to believe a successful woman married _you_."

Barney rolled his eyes and looked towards the bathroom, just in time to watch Robin come out. She looked gorgeous.

"Dammmnnnnnn." Harrison stated, looking over at Robin. Barney's first instinct was to punch him, but instead took a different approach. An idea he got from Marshall.

Barney looked at Harrison. "First one to get her to kiss them, gets a hundred bucks."

"Deal! You're going down, Stinson."

Both guys got up and walked over to Robin. Harrison cleared his throat. "Hey pretty lady."

Robin raised her eyebrows, and looked at Barney. He grinned and put an arm around her hip, bringing her closer to him. He kissed her passionately, which she returned. Barney even dipped her slightly, just to rub it in Harrison's face a little more.

When they broke apart, Barney looked over to the other man, who looked a little awestruck. "That'll be a hundred bucks, Padmore."

"What…how…?"

Barney smiled. "Allow me to introduce my wife, Robin. Baby, this is Harrison Padmore. He was the biggest jerk in school."

Harrison narrowed his eyes at Barney, then turned to Robin. "Hi, nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand, which she declined. "Your husband was the biggest virgin at school."

Robin smiled sweetly, catching onto the teasing vibe between the two guys. "Clearly not anymore. We have two kids. Barney gets nailed almost every night without making an effort. How hard do you have to try to get laid?"

"Whatever." Harrison stalked off.

Barney pulled Robin closer, kissing her forehead. "You are the best wife ever."

"Thanks baby." She smiled. "Now, how many other losers were jerks to you in school that we can now boast to?"

Barney grinned. He loved that woman so damn much.

…

 **A/N**

 **For the record, I really think that as great as himym is, one of its biggest flaws is the way it portrays women who may not be tiny. I don't agree with this, but I was keeping with the tone of the show. If you're not your desired weight, don't worry. You're beautiful.**


	17. Milestones

**A/N**

 **Instead of combining two chapters, I'm just skipping month five and going straight to six. It's the same thing I was going to do as before, but just all in November rather than October and November. This is a different layout, but I think it's fine.**

…

Everly and Aurelia's first milestones started much sooner than Barney and Robin expected. First, there was smiles, laughs, rolling over, sleeping through the night, babbling nonsense to each other. All the little things that all babies do, but make parents realise they are growing up. As the girls got older, the bigger milestones began coming.

 ** _November 5_** ** _th_** ** _, 2018_**

Ted and Lily had been nagging at Barney and Robin to get the twins started on solids for weeks. It was Sunday morning, when they had finally decided to give them their first taste of anything other than breast milk. Barney turned his iPhone camera, which was already recording, onto Aurelia in the high chair.

"Do we just give it to them like this?" Robin asked, turning the jar over in her hands.

Barney shrugged. "I guess so."

"But, do we have to warm it up or something?"

"I don't know. Here, take the camera. Let me check." Barney handed her his phone and took the jar from her.

Robin smiled at her daughter. "Hey beautiful girl." She kissed Aurelia's cheek, then bent down to Everly, who was on the ground, chewing on a stuffed animal. She kissed her other daughter's head, then stood up again.

"It doesn't say anything about microwaving it." Barney stated.

As they both read the label, there was a very distinct voice from the ground. "Mama."

Barney dropped the jar, which smashed into pieces on the floor. Both ignored it and stared at each other, mouths open and eyes widened. "Did she just..."

Robin nodded. "Say mama? I think so..."

"She just said her first word..." Barney trailed off, then looked at his phone, still recording in his wife's hand. "And we got it on camera!" He put his hand out to high five her, which she returned.

"Yes! Lily's going to die." Robin smiled. "Pay up, by the way."

"Damnit!" Barney yelled, reaching into his pocket and pulling out $20. He handed it to Robin. They had made a bet when the girls were newborns on whether mama or dada would be uttered first.

"Thank you, sir."

November 19th, 2018

Barney was lying on his stomach on the ground, both twins on their tummies in front of him. Robin laid on the couch, watching them.

"Okay, Evie. You can do this. Dada. Dada. Come on baby girl?"

She looked at him, her eyes innocent. "Mama."

"No! Come on, Everly! Dada!" Barney ordered. She stayed silent. "Everly Elyse Stinson. Say dada-"

Robin jumped up from the couch and pulled Everly into her arms. "Okay, babe. Maybe let's stop ordering our six month old to speak, okay?"

Barney sighed. "Fine." He turned to Aurelia. "Okay, princess. My favourite daughter." He glared at Everly. Robin rolled her eyes. "Can you say dada?"

Aurelia started whimpering. Barney's eyes softened. "Sorry, baby girl. Come here. Shh." He picked her up and started rocking her in his arm.

...

Later that night, as Barney and Robin were putting the twins to bed, Aurelia uttered one simple word. "Uhv."

"Oh my god, Barney." Robin whispered, beckoning him over from Everly's crib.

"What's up?" He asked, seeming concerned, and coming over to her.

"I think she just said love."

Barney's eyes widened. "Can she even say love?"

"It was more like uhv, but it sounded like she said love! She doesn't know what it means, but it's still adorable!" Robin replied. It made sense. They said I love you to the girls, and to each other all the time. It was perfectly normal for babies to pick up on words they heard often.

"We love you too, baby girl." Barney said. "Even if your first word wasn't daddy or dada."

Robin laughed and slapped his shoulder.

November 30th, 2018

On the last day of November, Barney was stuck in a long meeting. It was past 7pm now, and he was desperate to get home to his girls. The door suddenly opened, and the receptionist walked in.

Barney's boss jumped up. "Francesca! We're in a meeting, I said do not disturb us for anything short of an emergency!"

"I'm sorry. She said it was an emergency." Francesca replied. She turned to Barney. "Mr Stinson, your wife. She said it was urgent."

Barney's heart started pounding. He jumped up and grabbed the phone, muttering a quick thanks to Francesca. He put the phone to his ear, not caring that everyone could hear him. "Baby, what's wrong? Are you okay? Are the twins okay? Let me get my stuff, I'll be home as quick as I can."

"Oh my god, Barn!"

"What happened? Are you alright?"

"Yes! Oh my god, oh my god! Aurelia crawled!"

Barney stopped, his mouth dropping open. "She did! That's amazing!" He stopped and looked around at his coworkers, who didn't look impressed, so faked a reaction. "Wait what? Oh no, oh god, babe. What hospital are you at? Do they think she's gonna be okay?"

"Oh, are you in the room with people? Okay, just pretend you have to get to the hospital, and come home. I videoed it, and sent it to you. Watch that on the way."

"Oh god, of course. Of course. I'll be right there. Bye gorgeous, hang in there." He hung up the phone and rushed from the room, assuming they understood.

Once he was in the privacy of his own office, Barney checked his messages and watched the video. He was overcome with emotion. His baby girls were growing up.

...

 **A/N**

 **Hope you enjoyed. I know that was a little like** ** _a Till Death Do We Part_** **scene, but whatever. Have a merry Christmas and happy holidays if I don't get another chapter out by Tuesday, but I'm confident I will. As for** ** _Underneath The Mistletoe_** **, I'll continue it next year :)**


	18. Christmas Miracles

**A/N**

 **Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Hope you all have/are having/had a great day! And, if you don't celebrate Xmas, happy holidays! Merry Xmas for tomorrow, too. This chapter was just so cute, I couldn't take it.**

...

Barney held Aurelia above his head swinging her slightly, while she giggled and grinned at her daddy. The seven month old was getting so good at crawling now, which meant Barney and Robin had to babyproof the apartment, which they did. Everly still hadn't yet, which was fine. She was better at talking, and could already repeat simple words, and she knew a couple of words too. They were both good at recognising their name, which was good for their godparents, who couldn't tell the difference.

"Catch up, slowpoke." Robin called back to Barney. He pulled Aurelia onto his hip and ran forward to walk beside his wife, grabbing her hand. "Ready to see Santa, girls?"

Barney grinned. "Yeah! You girls are gonna see Santa Claus! He's the best! He brings presents!"

Robin smiled at him and kissed his cheek. He was so cute with their daughters.

...

It was a forty-five minute line, and while sitting on Santa's lap, Everly just wanted to pull his beard, and Aurelia was crying. Despite that, though, the photo came out really cute. Both Barney and Robin were really happy with it.

They had finished up with Santa, and were now getting a few last minute gifts and groceries for Christmas Day tomorrow.

Barney, Robin and the girls were headed towards a toy store, to see if the dollhouse Penny wanted that they had ordered in was in stock yet. Barney was back from Robin slightly, carefully throwing Everly around, without letting go of her obviously, while Aurelia sat happily on her mom's hip.

"Robin?" A male voice asked.

She froze. She'd recognise that voice anywhere. "Crap."

Barney jogged up to her, noticing she was worried. He had spotted who was talking to her, and was scared himself. "It's okay, it's okay. Be nice, baby. It's Christmas Eve, get in the spirit and be kind to him."

She nodded and turned around. "Hey dad."

"Merry Christmas, Robin. Barney." He came closer, studying the twins. "Are these my granddaughters?"

"No, no. They're just some kids we found out the front of the mall." Robin replied sarcastically.

"Robin." Barney muttered. "Be nice."

"Fine. They're my daughters, and biologically, they are your granddaughters, but you will never be their grandfather. You didn't earn that title."

Her father looked confused. "I don't understand."

Barney rolled his eyes. "Grow up, honestly. You haven't talked to your daughter in a year, despite knowing she was pregnant. You can't expect to come here and her be all smiles. You really hurt her. You could've asked her to meet up and talk things over. You could've called to ask how she was going, or how long until her due date. But, you didn't want to make things right. You obviously don't care about getting to know your granddaughters."

"Suppose I did want to make things right, and did want to get to know my granddaughters, how would I go about doing that?"

"Do you really want to?" Robin asked. "Do you really care about them? Don't think for a second I'm letting you near my babies if you're going to act like you did when I was little."

"Robin, I'm getting older. I should be spending time with you, and your sister. And my granddaughters. I want to be a part of their lives." He sighed, then added, "I'm sorry for being such a bad father. I'm sorry I didn't call. Can you except my apology? I would like nothing more than to be apart of your daughters' lives."

"Okay." Robin sniffed. This was a real apology. He was apologising for real. Barney made it happen. Again.

He smiled. "I must go. Carol wants me home soon." He started to walk away, then looked back. "They're beautiful, Robin. I'm proud of you."

Robin's eyes were watering as he left. She threw herself into Barney, who caught her, and kissed her head.

"It's a Christmas miracle." He whispered into her head.

She pulled back, laughing and pushed him. "No miracles."

...

Later that night, Barney and Robin sat on the couch. The twins were both bathed and sleepy in their laps. The Skype call rung once more before Genevieve picked up.

"ROBIN! BARNEY!" She yelled.

Robin waved. "Hey mom."

"Oh my goodness! KATIE! ROBIN'S ON SKYPE!"

The thirty year old sprinted into the kitchen, taking the laptop from her mother. "Hey! How are you? How are my nieces?"

"We're all good." Robin laughed. "I can't believe you're still living at home, Katie. Move out! I moved to a different country at twenty three!"

"Nah." Katie replied. "Now, lemme see Everly and Aurelia!"

...

The Skype call lasted half an hour before the twins became fussy. After putting cookies and milk out for Santa for the twins, then putting the girls to bed, Barney and Robin got started on their Santa setup. Everly and Aurelia were only seven months old, so they wouldn't remember their first Christmas, but Barney and Robin wanted to make a big thing of Santa anyways.

...

Barney stepped back to admire his hard work. Robin had fallen asleep on the couch when he was rushing outside and back in to track snow through the living room. It would melt by morning, but showed up in the pictures he just took.

There were plenty of gifts under the tree. Half were from Barney to Robin or vice versa, but the rest were for the twins. The stockings were stuffed to the brim. Barney smiled.

He turned the lights off and climbed on the couch next to Robin, not bothered to go to bed. He kissed her forehead.

"Merry Christmas, mama."

...

 **A/N**

 **I had to make Robin and her dad make up. This chapter was a little all over the place, but I'm super pressed for time. Also, I'm going to be taking a small break until January. Everything is super stressful, with Christmas and everything. Ugh, I'm rambling. Sorry. Hope you enjoyed :)**


	19. What A Band-Aid Can't Fix

**A/N**

 **I just want to quickly say how grateful I am to everyone who reads, reviews, favourites and follows this story. I know I don't express how thankful I am for each and every one of you enough, but I truly am so appreciative. Thank you so much for sticking with this story! It really means a lot to me :)**

 **Also, I'm really, really sorry for my lack of uploading. I have a lot of stuff going on, but I'll try to be more frequent. I'm really glad you guys are still reading.**

 **Lol, I just realised it sounds like this is the last chapter, but I promise it is not. I have big plans.**

…

The wailing was relentless as Barney tried desperately to quiet his daughter. Everly had been crying nonstop for almost two days, and neither he or Robin could figure out what was wrong. The twins were teething, so crying a lot from that, but this was different. Evie's cries were sharp and pained. They figured she was sick, but when they called the paediatrician to ask what could be wrong, she just claimed it was pain from teething. Barney and Robin both knew it wasn't. They knew their daughters, and knew something was wrong.

"Come on, baby girl." Barney cooed, sitting on the couch and putting his eight-month-old into his lap. He had been singing nursery rhymes for the past hour, hoping to lull her to sleep. It wasn't helping. "Shh, I know you don't feel well. Going to sleep will make you feel better."

Robin gently closed the door to the nursery behind her, where she had just gotten Aurelia to quiet down and fall asleep. She was having pretty bad teething pain, but it was different to Everly. She watched her husband for a second. "Still no luck?"

"No." Barney sighed. "I wish she could talk properly, and just tell me what's wrong."

Robin smiled. "That would be nice." She stepped forward and put her hand on the infant's forehead. "When was the last time you took her temperature?"

"About an hour ago. Why?"

Robin frowned. "She feels warm." She picked up the thermometer from the mess on the coffee table. They'd been wrapped up in the twins for a few days, and had been leaving mess everywhere. The apartment was a pigsty. She took Everly's temperature, and looked at the number displayed on the screen. 101°F. "Holy crap, Barney!"

"What? What's up?" He asked, having completely zoned out on what was going on. Robin shoved the thermometer into his hand and he checked the screen. "One hundred and one degrees…Robin, that's really high."

"I know! What do we do?"

Barney shifted Everly into one arm and pulled his phone out. "We need to take her to the hospital, baby. I'll text Lily and see if she can come over and watch Aurelia, you go get a bag for Eves, okay?"

Robin nodded, swallowing her panic. She tiptoed back into the nursery, careful not to disturb the sleeping baby. She shoved diapers, clothes, pacifiers and a few stuffed animals into a bag, then left the room, closing the door gently behind her.

She was practically trembling with anxiety as Barney finished his phone call. The thought of her baby in a hospital was horrifying to her.

"Thank you, guys, so much. I'll see you soon. Bye." Barney hung up the phone. "Okay, so Marshall, Lily and the kids are coming over, to stay with the kids. Lily offered to come with us, but I think it's better if it's just the two of us.

"Okay." Robin whispered.

Barney looked up. "Hey, baby. Don't worry," he paused to pull her into a hug, "it's going to be okay. She'll be fine."

Robin nodded. "I just don't like this."

"I know, I don't like it either."

…

Robin sat next to Barney in the paediatric waiting room of the hospital, Everly crying in her arms. She was attempting to calm her daughter, but nothing was working. She felt so bad for the eight-month-old. Barney was gripping onto Robin's hand, knowing how scared she was. He also knew that him holding her hand was helping her feel better.

"Everly Stinson?" A doctor asked, coming into the waiting room. Barney and Robin stood up and followed the doctor to an examination room. He came in behind them, shutting the door. "So, what seems to be going on?"

…

Barney sat in the chair beside the hospital bed, watching his wife and daughter sleep. Robin had climbed into bed with Everly, and now both of them were sleeping peacefully. He let his thoughts wander, his mind still churning from the events that took place in the last few hours.

 ** _Two hours ago_**

Robin and Barney sat opposite the doctor, both terrified. Everly was with the nurses now, but nobody had really explained what was going on to them. The doctor cleared his throat, drawing the pair's attention.

"Okay, so, Everly has a viral infection, so we're just getting her set up in a room now. We want to keep her here overnight, just to monitor her fever and make sure it goes down. We'll put her on an IV too, just because we want to make sure she's getting the proper amount of fluids. You should be able to take her home tomorrow, or the day after that, if everything goes well. She'll be on antibiotics though. Keep her away from her sister, though. It's very contagious."

"So, she's okay? We have nothing to worry about?" Barney asked.

"She's okay, yes. Though, you're very lucky you brought her in when you did though. Her fever could've gone up, and that could've had disastrous results."

The doctor had no idea what that statement did to Barney. He was completely overtaken with anxiety. He couldn't even trust the girls' normal paediatrician. She had said it was nothing, and Everly was just teething when they had called her.

It was a really, really frightening thought. Everly could've died if they hadn't brought her in.

 ** _Back to the present_**

Barney shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking that way. She was okay. His heart really went out to every parent who has ever had a sick infant though, because the last few hours had been some of the scariest of his life.

He had seen things tonight he wished he could unsee. Really sick kids. It broke his heart. He was a dad now, so he sympathized. It was so sad seeing what some kids and parents have to go through daily, and he wished he could help all of them.

He honestly didn't know what he'd do if either of the twins were that sick. He thanked his lucky stars that his girls were born healthy.

…

 **A/N**

 **This chapter was pretty short, sorry, and super serious compared to the pretty fluffy ones I've been publishing lately. Hope that's okay, and hope you liked it :)**


	20. One Year

**A/N**

 **Hey guys, first of all, sorry for the inactivity. I can promise that I** ** _will_** **be updating a lot more in the coming months. Also, I had an idea. I'm gonna sped this story along a little. I feel like my original plan is going to drag on for ages, with just weird unneeded filler chapters. If you hadn't noticed, I was writing this with each chapter as one month.**

 **So, my plan is to make this chapter one year, then maybe have two or three chapters for age one. I realise that I'm the author, so I can kinda do what I want, but I want you guys to be clear on what I'm doing, and I wanna check that doing big time skips is okay with you. The only reason is because I have exciting, proper plot points set out, and I want to get to them pretty quickly. Thank you guys for understanding, like I'm sure you will.**

 **Also, I just published another Barney and Robin parent fic called** ** _And Baby Makes Three_** **so if you like this story, it'd mean a lot to me if you'd check that one out too, if you want to :)**

 **PS: Robin freaking out and getting stressed over her kid's first birthday party is my current favourite thing ever, hence why she does it in** ** _Lyrics Of Our Lives_** **and this story. Plus it's really fun for me to write, lol.**

…

"Hey, so don't freak out…" Barney started as he closed the front door to the apartment behind him, putting a cake box on the table beside him.

Robin looked up from where she was playing on the living room door with the twins. "Uh oh. I don't like it when you start sentences like that."

"What?" He asked, his voice high pitched. "Name one time I've ever said that."

Robin raised her eyebrows.

 ** _January 3_** ** _rd_** ** _, 2011_**

"Hi Robin." Barney walked into MacLaren's and immediately made a beeline to the booth. She was the only one there. "So, don't freak out, but there's some insane chick I banged a while ago outside, and she has a gun."

"What!"

"I said don't freak out. Do you have your gun?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but-"

"Good then come on. We have to scare her off."

"We?"

He nodded. "Yes! Come on!"

"Okay, okay. I'm coming!" She got up and ran after him. "Are you insane? You're unarmed Barney! Get behind me!"

"I knew you'd have my back, Scherbatsky."

 ** _Back to the present_**

"Okay, that one time-"

Robin laughed. "Oh, I'm far from done, Stinson."

 ** _May 18_** ** _th_** ** _, 2013_**

Barney looked up as his fiancée entered the apartment. "Oh, hey, baby…"

"What's up?"

"Nothing's up, why would you think something's up?" He answered way too fast.

She frowned. "What did you do?"

"I didn't…okay, fine, don't freak out, but our wedding band kinda cancelled."

"WHAT?" She yelled. "The wedding is in a week! Oh my god, Barney! What are we gonna do?"

"You have to calm down, you look like you're about to pass out."

"There's going to be no music. This wedding is a disaster. Maybe we shouldn't even be getting married in the first place."

Barney scowled. "Robin, don't even say that. This wedding is far from a disaster. We'll figure something out, okay? I love you." He kissed her forehead.

"Okay. I love you too."

 ** _Back to the present_**

Barney sighed. "That-"

"Shut up. I'm not finished."

"Noted." Barney replied, a little scared of her tone.

 ** _July 13_** ** _th_** ** _, 2018_**

"Are you covered in poop?" Robin asked, looking up as her husband entered the living room from the couch where she was nursing Everly.

"Potentially."

She laughed. "How?"

"Don't freak out…"

"I won't. I find this highly entertaining actually."

He glared at her. "Thanks babe. Anyway, the entire nursery may or may not be covered in poop thanks to lovely Aurelia."

"WHAT?"

He scowled. "So, it's funny when I'm covered in poop, but when it's the nursery, you're disgusted?"

"It's easy to clean poop off you but not off the walls!" She replied, jumping up to go check the damage.

 ** _Back to the present_**

"Okay, fine. You win. Maybe I do say that a lot."

Robin smiled. "Thank you. Anyways, what were you saying?"

"It's not a big deal." Barney replied unconvincingly, as he knelt down to pull his daughters into a hug. They had toddled over to him when he opened the door. He stood up with a twin in each of his arms. "It's just that those last birthday presents we ordered for the girls aren't going to be here until Monday."

"WHAT? They promised it'd be here yesterday! They said twelve days!" Robin replied. Tomorrow was May 15th, and the girls first birthday. It was important to her that everything was perfect for Everly and Aurelia, because she loved those girls more than anyone. Except for Barney.

"No, they said twelve _business_ days, baby. It'll be okay though. They're only one, they won't understand."

She nodded. "Okay, you're right. It'll be fine."

"Oh, and the venue has termites."

"WHAT!"

"And your mom and Katie's flight was cancelled."

Robin's sighed. "Oh my god, what else can go wrong?"

"Don't worry. I've got this. I'll fix it."

…

Barney grinned as he laid on a towel beside Robin, his toes in the sand. After a horrendously hectic night, they had finally found a venue, the beach, and managed to send out messages to all the guests. Now, they were enjoying laying in the sand while Ted and Tracy playing with the twins in the ocean.

"See, this isn't so bad, is it?" He asked, grinning at Robin.

She smiled back, and put her head on his outstretched arm. "No. It's not so bad at all."

They both closed their eyes for a minute, rudely awoken when Ted put a wet baby on top of them.

Robin laughed and sat up to pull her daughter into her arms, while Barney reached out his arms to take Everly from Tracy.

Lily raced in front of them, camera in hand, and knelt down on the sand. "Smile guys!" She quickly snapped a photo and smiled, clearly happy with her shot.

As Ted, Tracy and Lily ran down to the water's edge to check on their own kid, Robin looked around the beach area, around the shelter they had set up for the party. "The party seems to be going well."

"It's crazy that everyone's getting along so well." Barney added. His mom and Robin's dad were talking, and seemed to be getting along. That was crazy. Normally they'd exchange forced greetings, then ignore each other, as neither agreed with the other's parenting strategies.

"I can't believe it's been a year." Robin commented.

"I know. It's crazy how fast time moves, isn't it? It's been an insane year."

Robin smiled and nodded, getting her phone out and pulling up pictures of the twins as newborns. "I never thought I'd be so… _happy_ being a mom. I always just assumed it would make me boring and miserable."

"I'm glad I get to spend the rest of my life with you." Barney smiled.

"Aww, that's sweet, but never say anything that mushy again."

Barney snickered, and leaned in to kiss her. "I love you."

"I love you too." She murmured.

Barney broke away from his wife to kiss the top of his daughter's heads. "Happy first birthday, girlies."

…

 **A/N**

 **Sorry if this chapter was a little off. I've written, rewritten and deleted at least five different versions and plots of this chapter. I really need to fast forward, so I'm not wasting time on random short pieces. Also, with this chapter, I was worried it was going to be too much like** ** _Lyrics Of Our Lives_** **. But I did it! Hope you enjoyed, and I should have another story coming out in the near future (two that I'm working on actually) :)**


	21. Double Trouble

**A/N**

 **What do you guys think of this layout where I have multiple little scenes in one chapter, rather than one longer scene? I prefer writing like this for the in between chapters. There's only going to be this chapter, and one more chapter of little shots for the twins at age one, then I'm going to move on to two years old. Hope that's alright, and hope you like it!**

…

 ** _June 20_** ** _th_** ** _, 2019_**

Squeals of laughter and shouts erupted from behind the closed door as Barney edged closer to the apartment door. He smiled for a minute, before hearing Carly yell in anger. Uh oh. He didn't like the sound of this. He opened the door, and took in the scene inside the apartment, mouth dropping open as he glanced around the room.

"What in God's name happened in here?" He asked, his gaze falling on Carly.

She looked up, panic evident in her face. "Barney! You weren't supposed to be home yet…"

"I left you alone with my kids for one hour and you ruin my entire apartment-" He stopped short, seeing his daughter sitting on the ground, covered in some kind of goo. Most of the kitchen was covered in the same goo. "Carly, what the hell is all over Evie?" He picked up the giggling one year old and held her away from his body.

"Uh, yogurt, cupcake batter, cologne and body lotion."

Barney blinked slowly. "Do I even want to know how?"

"Well, she and Aurelia were bored-"

He cut her off. "Where _is_ Aurelia?"

"Her bedroom. Napping." Carly replied. "Anyways, they were bored and fussy, so I decided to have them help me make cupcakes, and I put the batter in the beater and Everly was getting cranky because she was hungry, so I left Aurelia sitting on the counter-"

"What the hell is wrong with you? You can't leave a thirteen-month child sitting on the counter unattended! She could seriously hurt herself!" Barney scolded.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. But, I left Lia on the counter, and put Eves in her high chair with some yogurt. While my back was turned, Aurelia started playing with the dials on the beater, and turned it up to five. So, that's how the batter got splattered everywhere."

"So Li-Li's covered in batter too?"

"Well she was, and I took her into the bathroom to bathe her, but I forgot that I left Everly in her high chair, and when I came back to get her, she had already flipped the yogurt all over herself."

Barney pressed his hands against his temples. "Oh my god."

"I'm sorry! But, I'm still not finished yet. While I was bathing Aurelia, Everly got into the cabinet under the sink and played with some of the stuff under there. She used two bottles of your cologne and got Robin's body lotion all over herself before I noticed. It looked expensive too."

"Robin's going to kill you. And I'm not going to stop her."

"I'm so sorry, Barney! I'll replace the lotion if it was super expensive."

He shook his head. "No, not because of the damn lotion. Because you coated our entire kitchen in cupcake batter, put our daughter in danger of falling to her death and were pretty irresponsible when caring for the other one."

"I really am sorry. Here, I'll go bathe Evie, and then clean up the kitchen." She took the baby from his arms, and left towards the bathroom. Barney sighed, and started wiping batter off the counter, listening to the sounds of the water running in the other room.

He was interrupted by a sweet voice through the baby monitor. "Dadda?"

Barney smiled, and headed towards the nursery, edging open the door. "Hi baby girl, are you awake?" He blinked in the darkness, waiting for his eyes to adjust, then gasped when they did. "Aurelia Rose!" There wasn't much that he could do to reprimand her, as she was so young. But, somehow, she had managed to get her little hands on a packet of crayons and had drawn all over the wall. He prayed it would come off. He scooped Aurelia into his arms and opened the nursery door, in time to see his other daughter crawl past, completely naked. She could walk, but was so much faster at crawling.

"Everly! Get your little butt over here!" Carly yelled, running into the living room, chasing after the naked toddler.

As Barney moved to help grab his daughter, the front door opened. His eyes flew to the entryway, and his wife's startled face. "Robin! Hey…Um, how was your day?"

She looked up at Barney, her mouth still agape, and closed the door again, staying outside of the apartment.

Barney put Aurelia down on the living room floor, next to the twin's toys, and looked over to Carly. "Well, have fun cleaning this place."

"Where are you going?"

"With Robin. Technically, we're paying you for another hour and a half. So, have fun." He smiled and turned around. "See ya!"

…

 ** _July 30_** ** _th_** ** _, 2019_**

Robin stood outside the church Gary Blauman was getting married in, watching her daughter and Penny giggling and playing tag in the grass. Florence was on her hip, the two-year-old's face sleepily buried in her aunt's neck.

"Pen, Evie, I think it's time to go back inside now."

The younger of the two girls froze in her spot and turned to face her mother, uttering one word. "No."

Four-year-old Penny was much more advanced in tactics to get what she wants. Ted was a pushover, and Tracy hated being the bad cop, and ended up agreeing with Ted most of the time. So, granted that they were clever about it, Penny and Luke got their way a lot. Penny looked over to Robin. "May we please have five more minutes, Aunt Robin? I promise after that we'll go back inside and stay quiet for the whole time."

Robin noted her niece's vocabulary was astounding. She was very clearly Ted's daughter. She sighed. "Fine. Five more minutes. But after that, we're going inside. Okay, Penny?"

"Thank you!" Penny replied, turning back to play with her cousin. "Florrie, come play with us!"

At the mention of her name, Florence looked up from Robin's shoulder. "Down." She commanded.

"Okay, bossy boots." Robin put the girl on the ground, then muttered, "You're just like your mother."

She stood back and watched as the three girls giggled and squealed, playing nicely with each other. She started to zone out, snapping back into consciousness as she saw her one-year-old go to sit down in the mud.

"No, Everly! Not in the-" She sighed, surrendering as Everly sat down, the bottom of her light pink and white dress becoming covered in mud, "-dirt."

Florence followed her cousin, giggling as she crouched down in the dirt, the ends of the frilly skirt Lily had her in also getting covered in mud.

"Florence, come on, honey. You're old enough to know not to sit in the mud. Mommy's going to be cranky." She scolded the almost three-year-old. "Penny, that's enough time. We're going."

"But-"

"No buts." Robin scooped Everly up onto one hip, Florence onto the other and grasping Penny's hand, then hurrying inside, the best she could on seven inch heels. They got into the church before the ceremony began, while people were still talking. Robin sighed with relief, and quickly hustled the three girls over to the pew reserved for the gang and their kids.

Barney smiled as he saw the dirty state of his daughter's dress. "Of course Everly would find mud anywhere." He chuckled, holding his arm out - the one that wasn't occupied with Aurelia, who was happily sleeping in her dad's arms – to take Everly off Robin. She gratefully handed the one-year-old over, then lifted Penny onto Ted's lap, and passed Florence over to Marshall.

Lily gasped when she saw her daughter's dress. "Florence Edith Eriksen! What did you do to your pretty dress?"

"Nothing, mommy."

"Robin?" Lily asked, glaring at her friend.

"Don't leave me with your children!"

Barney laughed at his wife's outburst, and quickly stopped as the music begun. "Robin, come here. It's about to start."

She quickly hurried over, and took her place next to her husband, watching as the ceremony began. Barney had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing while watching Gary Blauman and his fiancée, Matt's wedding.

…

 **November 18** **th** **, 2019**

Robin grinned as she curled her body against Barney's, careful not to spill the glass of wine in her other hand. They had just tucked the girls in, and it was the first time in eighteen months that neither of them were too tired to have a night to just the two of them. They were watching a movie. An adult movie, that wasn't about kissing frogs or magic carpets.

Just as the movie was starting, Aurelia tottered into the living room, crying softly. Barney nudged his wife. He looked at the eighteen month old. She was standing beside the couch, wearing light blue and white polka dot pyjamas, her rather long brunette curls tied into pigtails and the light from the TV illuminating her features. "What's wrong, princess?"

Robin untangled herself from her husband and put her wine glass on the coffee table. She held her arms open, inviting her daughter into them. Aurelia obliged, and toddled closer to her mom. Robin pulled her up onto the couch. "What happened, baby girl?"

"Cary, mommy." Aurelia replied.

Barney glanced at Robin, a puzzled expression on his face. "What does cary mean?" He muttered to himself. "Li-Li, what do you mean?"

"Cary, dada!" The child sobbed.

"Scary." Robin translated. "Did you have a bad dream, baby?" She felt the child nod into her chest.

"It's all okay, baby girl. It's not real." Barney soothed, putting his arm around Robin and pulling the two closer to him.

Aurelia fell asleep pretty quickly in her mom's arms, but Robin had no desire to move her and put her back to bed yet. She was adoring cuddling both her daughter and her husband.

It was only a couple of minutes until Robin nodded off too. Barney smiled. He turned the TV off, and covered the two girls with a blanket, then sat back against the couch for a minute. Robin looked happier than he'd ever seen her nowadays.

He laughed gently. "I don't want kids my ass, Scherbatsky."


	22. Twice The Love, Twice The Trouble

**A/N**

 **If you guys are still here, I'm so grateful. I will finish this story, I'll finish all of them, but the first half of the year is just completely crazy. I think I should more time to post now. Thank you so much for sticking around. You're the greatest :)**

…

 ** _December 3_** ** _rd_** ** _, 2019_**

"You two had to choose _today_ to do this?" Lily puffed, adjusting the box in her hands.

At the other end, Robin heaved the box up onto the stair landing. "We didn't know the elevator would be broken. Besides, you two didn't have to come to help."

"Yes, we did. You guys are pathetic. You planned to take all these boxes up seventeen flights of stairs on your own, and Barney doesn't even know what a screwdriver is."

"Lily, that's my husband you're talking about." Robin replied, a hint of annoyance in her voice. She was honestly sick of Barney's lack of a father figure while he was growing up make him the butt of everyone else's jokes, especially things like tools.

"Sorry."

Robin shook her head, "It's fine. Come on, let's just get this last box inside."

The two reached down and grabbed the box, hauling it into the apartment. They took it to what was once Everly and Aurelia's nursery, and was now the twin's bedroom. Well, it would be once the beds were set up. Marshall and Barney were sprawled across the floor, attempting to put the first bed together.

"How did you two find the most complicated instruction manual in the world?" Marshall asked, looking up at the doorway. The two woman dropped the box with a grunt.

Robin straightened up and caught her breath, then replied, "Don't look at me. That was _all_ Barney."

"Was not!" He yelled. He hesitated, "Okay, maybe I chose it, but it wasn't because it looked easy to set up, it was because it looked safe."

"And expensive." Robin muttered.

Marshall looked up from the manual, "Okay, Barney. It looks like you have to pick up the screwdriver and screw the nail in."

Barney looked at the tools on the ground beside him, and picked up the hammer.

"That's a hammer!" Marshall replied.

"Here, daddy." Aurelia picked up the screwdriver and handed it to her dad.

Lily snorted with laughter. "Your almost two-year-old daughter knows which one it is and you don't. That's sad, Barney."

"It was a lucky guess. Go to mommy, Lia." Barney replied.

Marshall looked at Barney. "Screwdriver, bro. You need to screw the bolt."

Barney scoffed, "Marshall, the only thing I know how to screw is her." He pointed up to Robin, who had knelt down to wipe chocolate off her daughter's face.

"Woah, okay! Let's go and find the other kids, Li-Li." Robin shot Barney a pointed look, and she and Lily led the girl out of the room.

In the living room, Marvin, Everly, Daisy and Florence played an imaginary game that involved running around the room, while all holding random objects from the room. These included someone's phone, an unlit candle, a pillow and a doll.

Lily and Robin sat up at the counter, and Robin started making coffee. Lily sighed heavily, "It's sad."

"What is?" Robin asked.

"This! We're all getting old. It's like we've moved on to the next stage. No more babies and stuff, you know?"

Robin shrugged, "Well, I wouldn't say _no_ more babies."

"Oh my god!" Lily yelled, "Oh god, you're pregnant aren't you! Oh my god, oh my god!"

"No, I'm not! I'm just saying-"

It was no use. Lily wasn't listening. "Marshall! Get out here!"

Both Marshall and Barney joined their wives in the kitchen, curious about all the yelling.

Lily looked over at Marshall. "Pay up, baby! Robin's pregnant!"

"What?" Marshall nearly yelled.

Barney laughed. "She's not."

"I'm not! For god's sake, listen to me Lily!" Robin laughed as she said, "All I meant was that Barney and I are really not that careful with our birth control."

"I mean, she's not wrong." Barney replied, high fiving Robin.

…

 ** _January 5_** ** _th_** ** _, 2020_**

Barney jolted awake in the dead of night to a noise in the living room. He rolled over and unlocked his phone to check the time. Three am. The bed beside him was empty. Alarm bells rang in his head as he whisper-shouted her name into the darkness. When there was no reply, he climbed out of bed and walked down the hallway. In the living room, Robin was curled up on the couch with Everly. The TV was on, and it was playing a hockey game.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

She looked behind her and smiled at him. "Hey, Barn."

"Why are you two awake?"

"We're watching the hockey championships."

"Why?"

"I love it." She replied, "And so does Evie."

Barney sighed, "You dragged our daughter out of bed to watch a hockey game with you?"

"I love holky." Everly said.

"Hockey, baby girl." Robin corrected. She looked up to Barney, "See? She loves watching hockey with me."

"Or she's just doing it to get out of bedtime." He replied, walking over to the couch. He reached down and picked up the girl. "C'mon princess. Bedtime."

Everly resisted. "No!"

"Yes." He picked up the remote and turned the TV off, then looked down to Robin. "You too. Bedtime. You have work early tomorrow morning."

"I'm an adult." She muttered.

Barney gritted his teeth, "Mommy, let's set a good example for the child. Okay?"

"Fine. Buzzkill."

He scoffed, "Love you too."

…

Robin stood in the kitchen, unboxing the deliveries that she had bought from Amazon. Barney sat on the couch, working, while occasionally looking up to _ooh_ and _ahh_ at the items Robin had bought. He didn't pay much attention until he heard her giggle – literally _giggle_ – at something. He looked up and squinted at the shirt in her hands. It was for the twins, but he couldn't make out what it was.

"What is that, babe?"

She smiled and turned the jersey around. "It's a jersey for Evie."

"No. You didn't."

"Oh, I did. Vancouver Canucks."

Barney groaned, "Robin, seriously?"

"Yep. Guess what?"

"What?"

"It's _personalised_. With your last name." She replied with a smile.

Barney rolled his eyes, but couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"Evie! Come here, baby girl!" Robin yelled.

The twenty-month-old tottered into the living room from her bedroom, "What, mommy?"

"Hi baby. Look what I got you!"

"Like the holky man!"

Robin grinned, "Yeah, just like what the hockey men wear."

He teased her, but the look of pure joy Barney could see in Robin's eyes at having a daughter who was into the hockey thing with her. It made him happy, too.

Her smile was contagious.

…

 **A/N**

 **Short, but now I'm done with the short little snippets of stories. For now, at least. I have plans, big plans, but I'll probably jump a year or two. Just because, writing these little stories are alright, but it's hard to get motivated when nothing's really happening. It was much easier to pump out chapters when I was really excited about what I was writing. I'm sorry for being so inactive, but please, review/favourite/follow, because each time that happens, it really, really motivates me to write. Thank you for being amazing, you guys :)**

 **Wow, I use far too many commas. Lol.**


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